Review of the Social Enterprise Government Congress 2024

Plenary opening

“If everything belongs to someone, nothing belongs to anyone” said Hans Stegeman, Chief Economist of Triodos Bank, during his inspiring, and sometimes confrontational, keynote during the plenary opening of the Social Enteprise Government Congress. The day started with a musical performance by Lamin Kuyateh and various welcoming remarks by, among others, the chairman of the day Bart Krull, Director of Social Enterprise NL Stefan Panhuijssen, Aldermen of the Municipality of Breda Carla Kranenborg- van Eerd and Marike de Nobel and Provincial Executive of the Province of Noord-Brabant Saskia Boelema, followed by an inspiring conversation with MT member of the Directorate of Business Climate at the Ministry of EZK Ilknur Dönmez. We were also stimulated by the impressive stories of social entrepreneurs Bianca Ernst of “Buurman” and Thibaud van der Steen of “No Waste Army.

“The dream is that it will no longer be necessary to recognize a company as a social enterprise because it has become the norm.” – Ilknur Dönmez.

We then welcomed Hans Stegeman to the stage with his huge five puzzle pieces that told a story about how we as a society are constantly solving puzzles and how that affects the roles and interactions between social enterprises, governments and other factors within the ecosystem to work together for that systemic change.

Inspirational sessions 

After the plenary opening, three inspiration sessions took place, each offering a unique perspective on the role of entrepreneurship and government in society. Shinta Oosterwaal, uneconomist and lecturer/researcher at Avans University of Applied Sciences, spoke about the need for a value-driven economy. She emphasized how entrepreneurship can act as a force for change, using ideas from transition science and systems thinking. Marthe Hesselmans, principal researcher at the WRR, discussed the “Good Business” report and the role of government policy in attracting innovative companies that address societal problems. Bright Richards, director at New Dutch Connections, shared his personal story as a refugee and showed how theater can contribute to the empowerment of newcomers.

“The story Bright Richards told was very gripping and made me think. I was impressed by the steps he took and it reminded me that you should always remain curious about the other person.” – Edwin van der Pol, PSO Nederland (TNO)

Entrepreneurial sessions 

After a delicious lunch break provided by the Filmhuis in Breda in their beautiful greenhouse in cooperation with staff from 'Ons label', it was time for the first round of partial sessions that highlighted various themes, all starring social entrepreneurs. Bianca Ernst of Buurman Utrecht spoke about the importance of reuse in urban ecosystems and how municipalities can support circular entrepreneurs to achieve their goals. Joanne Hubers, Emine Turksever, and Bianca Stam-Verhoeven highlighted the collaboration between business and government to create sustainable jobs for all who want to work, with an inclusive approach at the center. Shadi Alhakimi presented Taaly, a platform that helps newcomers practice the Dutch language through video calls, and discussed working with municipalities to increase impact. Jan Willem van Bokhorst and Bart Meijs discussed the role of impact funders and policy in supporting system-changing entrepreneurs such as Oscar Circular, who are working toward clean and livable cities. Finally, Albert van der Most highlighted the Graafse Akker, a neighborhood project in Den Bosch that engages residents in community activities and promotes cooperation with the municipality.

“The sessions were very useful for me because I am still fairly new to the social return market and then it is nice to speak with and learn from governments and other social entrepreneurs.” – Wouter Kleijn, The Switch

Ecosystem Sessions 

After a half-hour break with refreshing ice creams from NICE Company, visitors moved on to the second and final round of partial sessions, this time all within the ecosystem theme. Thus, the festive renewal of the City Deal Impact Entrepreneurship marked an important step in normalizing impact entrepreneurship by 2026. The nearly 100 partners, including ministries, municipalities, and entrepreneurs, looked back on the first phase and discussed future cooperation themes. Leendert de Bell and Linda Bakker of Hogeschool Utrecht discussed the power of strategic collaborations between social enterprises, and presented a tool to promote effective collaboration. Janine Swaak and Mark Hillen examined how public procurement can contribute to social value, using inspiring cases from Overijssel as examples. Astrid Kaag, Martijn Berghman, and Jacoline Plomp shared lessons from the Brabant Outcomes Fund, and discussed how broad welfare can be integrated into the work of social entrepreneurs and public servants. Bart Wuyts of Blenders highlighted how social innovations can scale up into impact businesses, and emphasized the role of entrepreneurship in addressing societal challenges.

“The last session was with a lecturer from Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and it was inspiring for me to hear that they were doing research on impact entrepreneurship and how to increase your impact with collaborations between businesses and social enterprises.” – Agnie Papaloukas, Avans Hogeschool

Sunny drinks at the Greenhouse 

Naturally, we concluded the day festively together over drinks and delicious vegetarian snacks with musical accompaniment by Fernando Lewis and . Social entrepreneurs and civil servants had the chance to network with each other, possibly start new collaborations and look back on the day together.

“I thought it was a fantastic day! After the last session I thought, 'Huh is it over already? From me it could have been even longer.” – Bart Meijs, Social Impact Fonds Rotterdam

We would like to thank everyone who attended this wonderful edition, because only together do we realize radical system improvement! Hopefully we will see everyone again at the next edition in spring 2025.

Met speciale dank aan onze partners Gemeente Breda, FNO Zorg voor kansen City Deal Impact Ondernemen and Provincie Noord-Brabant.