Development of Social Entrepreneurship in TR81 Region Program

The ‘Development of Social Entrepreneurship in TR81 Region’ Program, which was carried out between October-December 2024 in cooperation with Impact Hub Ankara was completed. Within the scope of the program, in Zonguldak, Bartın and Karabük provinces, it was aimed to;

Understand the TR81 social entrepreneurship ecosystem by mapping potential social entrepreneurs and support organisations,
Increase knowledge and awareness by creating a common language and understanding of social entrepreneurship,
Design and execute idea development processes,
Support potential social entrepreneurs with various training and mentoring processes to facilitate the realisation of their initiatives.

Online Introductory Sessions on Social Entrepreneurship: On 16-17 October 2024, joint sessions consisting of four modules were held online with the participation of 72 people. Four modules titled Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation, Entrepreneurial Perspective on Social and Environmental Problems, Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, Social Financing and Access to the Market were conveyed to the participants.

Stakeholder Mapping: Social entrepreneurship actors in the region were identified and 394 stakeholders from different fields and sectors such as public institutions, professional chambers, NGOs, support organisations, social enterprises, educational institutions, private sector representatives that can contribute to the development of the social entrepreneurship ecosystem were mapped.

Click here to view the map: BAKKA Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Map

Face-to-Face Project Generation Workshops: Workshops were held on 18 November in Bartın, 20 November in Zonguldak and 21 November in Karabük, bringing together 56 participants in total to work on developing project ideas.

Online Mentoring Sessions: In this context, a total of 27 participants were offered mentoring on topics such as problem/opportunity identification, problem/opportunity-solution fit, solution-market fit, value proposition-business model fit, team-leadership-motivation and applicability.

Online Social Impact/Entrepreneurship Award Programme: Following the mentoring sessions, 12 program participants presented their ideas to the jury members from the ecosystem in the online Social Enterprise Award Program. 5 ideas were selected by the jury and gained point advantage in the future programs planned by the Western Black Sea Development Agency.

Determination of Social Enterprise Criteria Set: A set of criteria was prepared for the identification of social enterprises in TR81 Region.

As a result of the program, the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in TR81 Region was understood in more depth, regional awareness increased and concrete steps were taken to support social entrepreneurship processes in the region.