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Hello Europe Call for Solutions 2020!

Searching for the next cohort of Hellopreneurs!

By Ashoka, Hello Europe

May 11^th, 2020

WHAT IS A HELLOPRENEUR?

Hellopreneurs are the social innovators who are creating and leading proven, impactful citizen-led solutions in the area of migration and integration.

They exhibit entrepreneurial traits such as creativity, empathy and leadership. They tackle pressing social problems with a new service, product or approach and empower other people while doing so.

Hellopreneurs have a clear strategy that considers the root causes of the social problem that they are addressing, and have already achieved a tangible social impact in their field.

Hello Europe is always on the look out for new Hellopreneurs! If you or someone you know fit this description, consider applying today.

WHY JOIN OUR COMMUNITY?

By applying to our Call for Solutions, you will get the opportunity to enter the Hello Europe Community. This means:

Joining a community of 100+ solutions that are already making an impact in the field of migration;
Getting access to training and networking resources, on areas such system change, policy and other cutting-edge topics;
Being recognised as a Hello Europe social innovator, part of the wider Ashoka community;
Accessing opportunities for new collaborations with other social innovators and our partners: over 30 new partnerships have emerged from our program, and 23 social innovators have established new collaborations with other Hellopreneurs or Ashoka Fellows.

NOMINATE / APPLY

ASHOKA & HELLO EUROPE: WHO ARE WE?

Ashoka is an international NGO founded in 1981 to identify and support the most innovative ideas for social change around the world. It coined the term ‘social entrepreneur’ and selects the Ashoka Fellows: unique leaders who design and drive these ideas forward, turning them from notions to organisations to global movements.

Over almost four decades, Ashoka has elected nearly 4,000 Ashoka Fellows in over 90 countries.

As it sources and selects brilliant social entrepreneurs in every sector, themes in their work begin to emerge, and as a global organisation Ashoka is uniquely placed to identify those trends that can transform society at a systemic level.

Hello Europe is an initiative by Ashoka created in 2016 to identify the most powerful and proven solutions to challenges surrounding migration, integration and refugee movements. Our portfolio includes over 100 individual social innovations across the continent in areas ranging from labor market integration and education to housing and health.

We look for citizen-led initiatives that have achieved a demonstrated social impact, and connect them with key actors in the local ecosystems.

We select the social innovators that have developed these ideas and invite them to join our cohort of Hellopreneurs.

Please apply by Friday 17th July.

MEET TWO OF OUR HELLOPRENEURS

Elisa Vepsalainen, Startup Refugees.

Refugees are often unable to utilise their existing professional skills or educational backgrounds in their new countries. Newcomers of working age end up wasting several years outside the labour market and therefore on the outskirts of society, and hosting countries are quickly losing their economic potential, whilst labour shortage is growing in several fields.

Startup Refugees seeks to find out the professional skills and experience of refugees and matches these with relevant local network members to create jobs and new businesses. Startup Refugees was founded in Finland and consists of over 500 partners that support newcomers to start businesses and enter the Finnish labour market.

Startup Refugees mapped out over 2,300 refugees’ skillsets and professional goals in 11 Finnish cities. The results enabled them to provide employment and entrepreneurship support without causing difficulties for the staff in the reception centres of the Finnish Employment Agency. They have offered 585 jobs, provided 3,500 opportunities in education and skills development, and supported 60 newcomers to start their own businesses.

Find out more at www.startuprefugees.com

Abdoulaye Fall, ACAF/ Winkomun.

Refugees and new migrants are often excluded from the financial structures that allow them to fully integrate into their new community.

ACAF is a cooperative organisation with the goal of fighting financial and social exclusion by creating and supporting self-financing communities. ACAF works with self-sustaining financial groups led by immigrants to promote networking and support their basic financial needs. These communities are small groups in which the partners – normally between 10 and 30 people – can participate through small contributions. ACAF’s proven efficient methodology is Winkomun; a solution that is expanding throughout Spain and to other European countries with low income and migrant population.

Winkomun has expanded to 7 European countries and created a free online platform to allow anyone from around the world to access their methodology and set up a worldwide network of self-funded communities. The methodology is now in use in more than 15 countries in 4 continents, with more than 500 groups benefiting over 9,000 people directly and over 32,000 people indirectly.

Find out more at www.winkomun.org

THE SELECTION CRITERIA

Hello Europe will evaluate the nominations received on consideration of 4 main criteria:

the innovativeness of the idea to address the social problem identified;
the soundness and feasibility of the strategy;
the social impact achieved;
and the ethical fibre and background of the social innovator.

A. Innovative idea

Hello Europe will only select solutions that address a social problem with an innovative idea - e.g. a new approach or a new solution that will change the pattern in the field of intervention. We value solutions that address root causes of the problem and that empower other people as changemakers. Here are two examples of innovative ideas from our cohort of Hellopreneurs:

IPSO, founded by Inge Missmahl, offers psychological support to refugees who reach a new country after significant trauma, by delivering psychological and social counselling through online videos.

SINGA, founded by Nathanael Molle, facilitates opportunities for encounter and cultural exchange among migrants, refugees and the host society, by bringing them together in a single community through a network of organisations.

B. Strategy

The initiative needs to have a sound and feasible strategy to achieve social impact. To assess the quality of the strategy, we look at the clarity of medium-long term goals and the reliability of the strategy to achieve them. Candidates should expect the potential impact of their initiative to be considered as well, during the selection process. Hello Europe will take into account the potential for systemic change, i.e. the potential for changing norms and behaviours of the sector by looking at the root causes of the problem. Here are two examples of strategies from our cohort of Hellopreneurs:

Welcome In, founded by Mary Nally, supports migrants in overcoming the language barrier that prevents them from integrating in their new country of residence, by engaging elderly volunteers within local communities as language teachers.

More than Shelters, founded by Daniel Kreber, addresses the issue of liveability in refugee camps by involving migrants in the design and creation of their own living space based on contemporary urban designed methods.

C. Social impact achieved

Hello Europe will consider the level of social impact achieved by the initiative. The scale of impact as well as the longevity of the organisation will be relevant to the evaluation (i.e. the largest or the most sustainable the impact achieved, the highest the score assigned). Here are two examples of impact from our cohort of Hellopreneurs:

MyGrants, founded by Chris Richmond, is based on an app that helps screening the skills and talents of migrants arriving on the European coasts and trains them for professional life. MyGrants then introduces them to various companies they are eligible to work for. In 2019 MyGrants successfully placed on average 25 new hires per week across Italy.

ComParte, founded by Maria Minas, helps migrants students in schools to reflect and contribute with proposal to their reception within the new country. On a national scale, ComParte has supported more than 560 students in over 10 schools.

D. The social innovator

The person leading the initiative should have experience in empowering other leaders. Additionally, Hello Europe seeks to empower migrant leaders by selecting social entrepreneurs who have a migrant background. Here is an example of a social innovator from our cohort of Hellopreneurs:

Sam Cuts Barber Saloon, founded by Segun Akeju, offers haircuts based on non-European hair types and style. A migrant from Nigeria himself, Segun aims to help those who are on the same journey he once was, by providing his clients - coming from countries such as Nigeria, India, Zimbabwe, etc. - with a welcoming environment where people can find help with issues such as legalising their stay, work and studies.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

Hello Europe will consider the application received on an ongoing basis. The selection process will be comprised of the following stages:

a first selection round carried out by the Hello Europe team;
a second selection round carried out by a team of Ashoka Venture representatives, who are expert in evaluating social innovations in multiple fields;
a final selection panel during which members of the Hello Europe Community (including Hellopreneurs, partners and the Hello Europe team) will conduct interviews with 10 short-listed applicants.

Applicants who submit their application over the May-July 2020 period can expect to receive feedback on their application by September 2020. Please apply by Friday 17th July.

NOMINATE / APPLY

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