Inspiring businesses to engage with social enterprise

Inspiring businesses to engage on purpose with social enterprise

Wellington – 31 July 2017 – New Zealand organisations are about to get an accelerated opportunity to learn from world leaders in social enterprise on how to engage employees, align their brands with the causes they support and measure the results.

A full day forum, Working on Purpose, will be held in conjunction with Social Enterprise World Forum 2017 at Papa Hou inChristchurch on 28 September. It will be New Zealand’s largest international event dedicated to corporate social responsibility and is being organised by SAP, with support from the Ākina Foundation. Any proceeds from the event will also be directly invested into supporting the next wave of social enterprises through the Ākina Foundation .

Working on Purpose will bring together public sector and corporate leaders, policy makers and specialists across employee engagement, branding, procurement and CSR. Through case studies and collaborative workshops, delegates will gain practical insights into:
• creating and measuring the impact of meaningful community engagement
• implementing global best practice in social procurement
• building networks to enhance and showcase their investment
• demonstrating business value and enhancing corporate brand recognition

The programme features some of the world’s leading social enterprise innovators and corporate leaders. Keynote speakers and workshop facilitators include:
• PETER HOLBROOK - Chief Executive, Social Enterprise UK
• ABBIE REYNOLDS – Executive Director, Sustainable Business Council
• PAUL DUNN - Four-time TEDx speaker and Chairman, B1G1: Business for Good
• STACEY SHORTALL – Partner, MinterEllisonRuddWatts, 2016 Woman of Influence and Trustee, WhoDidYouHelpToday
• JAN OWEN – CEO, Foundation for Young Australians
• DAVID SAVAGE - Facilitator, inspirational speaker and corporate leadership specialist
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“Organisations see working purposefully with social enterprises as a better way of engaging with employees, contributing to their communities, delivering on their brand promise and making more sustainable procurement decisions,” says Louise Aitken, General Manager of Ākina Foundation. “They are keen to learn from world leaders about how to do all this more effectively – and how to measure the results. That’s exactly what Working on Purpose is designed to do: it’s a valuable adjunct to the Social Enterprise World Forum programme.”

“New Zealand’s social enterprise sector is gaining significant momentum as a powerful means to deliver economic growth, jobs and social impact,” says Graeme Riley, Managing Director SAP New Zealand. “This event will serve as a platform to engage with our most influential brands and the world’s leading social innovators and be part of an inspiring movement to create a more sustainable future,”

Registration for Working on Purpose costs $250. Ākina will invest any proceeds from the event into supporting emerging and established social enterprises to scale and succeed. For more information visit http://akina.org.nz/workingonpurpose.
ENDS
About Social Enterprise World Forum 2017
Social Enterprise World Forum 2017 is an international event for social enterprises from all over the world to come together, share wisdom, build networks and discuss how to create a more sustainable future. The event attracts social enterprise practitioners, social entrepreneurs, policy makers, community leaders, investors, activists, academics and more from all across the globe.

About Ākina Foundation
The Ākina Foundation is focused on growing social enterprise across New Zealand. Ākina’s mission is to grow the emerging New Zealand social enterprise sector by activating talent, supporting social enterprises to grow and increase their impact, as well as developing new market and investment opportunities for social enterprise. Ākina has supported over 600 social enterprises and won the 2015 NZI Sustainable Business Network Business Award for Community Innovation.

About SAP
SAP’s corporate social responsibility efforts in New Zealand focus on two key areas: helping social enterprises drive social innovation, achieve operational excellence, scale and run simple; and educating the IT workforce of the future in communities in need.

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