A forum founded to support social entrepreneurs is to begin offering free workshops and interactive sessions.

A social entrepreneur is defined as ‘a person who establishes an enterprise with the aim of solving social problems or effecting social change.’

Bournemouth University Social Entrepreneurs Forum (BUSEF), in collaboration with the Association of Sustainability Practitioners and Poole Bay Rotary Club was launched in June 2019.

Its overarching ambition is to support the development of the landscape of social businesses in the region.

The forum’s objectives are underpinned by its commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr Sukanya Ayatakshi-Endow, BU’s Senior Academic in Entrepreneurship, said: “BUSEF wants to connect social entrepreneurs to each other and to people and organisations who can help them become growing businesses.

“Too often, social businesses are misunderstood and that stifles their growth.

“We believe that, through knowledge exchange between academia and the business community and working with local socially focused entrepreneurs, we can bring about a positive change to the growing community of social SMEs in the region.

“In one year we have come a long way.

“We celebrated the first Bournemouth University Global Entrepreneurship Week in November and worked with local social entrepreneurs on student-led projects on business planning and model innovation and digital and social media marketing.

“We paused briefly, in solidarity with the rest of the world, during Covid-19 lockdown in the UK to reflect on how best to support our local community of existing and aspiring social entrepreneurs.

“Now, and celebrating our first year virtually, BUSEF is offering the first of many free workshops and interactive sessions.

“The first virtual session, on Wednesday August 19, from 2.30pm to 3.30pm, is on ‘Legal Structures and Sources of Finance’.

“We will be joined by Jonathan Dixon, Head of Grants Programme at YTKO and Mairead Taylor, Director, Commercial and Business Banking at NatWest.”

Register for FREE using this link and for more information please contact Sukanya at [email protected].