NESsT and Citi Hungary announce four winners of the 2012/2013 Social Enterprise Development Competition

September 5, 2013

Best social enterprises receive in total US $41,000 for setting up or further developing their enterprise, cover advisory and training

Réthy Fashion, Family-Friendly City Social Cooperative, Li-Ko 97’ and BEN-Team were the four best performing social enterprises who received awards from Aftab Ahmed, Citi Country Officer for Hungary and Anna Horvath, Country Director of NESsT Hungary on September 4 for their outstanding performance in the 2012/2013 NESsT-Citi Social Enterprise Development Program.

Aftab Ahmed, Citi Country Officer for Hungary said, "Developing social enterprises that in addition to undertaking their business activities also focus on a social mission is an integral part of the community programs at Citi. Through helping social enterprises to operate in a sustainable way we contribute to creating more jobs and income opportunities."

Fifteen social enterprises participated in the ten-month program run by NESsT, consisting of a series of business planning training and coaching, as well as developing financing methods to improve their bottom line and increase their social impact. At the end of the program, three businesses were awarded US $21,000 in total to start or grow their enterprises, selected for developing the most successful business plans. In addition, they together with a fourth social enterprise will enter the NESsT Portfolio resulting in a one-year advisory and capacity-building opportunity worth over US $20,000.

Anna Horvath, Country Director for NESsT Hungary added, "We were very pleased to see the enthusiasm and dedication the program participants had put in these months of learning and preparations. It was difficult coming to a final decision, but we feel that the four winning competitors have not only developed truly good quality and creative business plans but also have high social impact potential in at least one of the strategic impact areas of our program: labor inclusion, sustainable income or affordable technology for marginalized people in Hungary."

Ms. Eva Reti, representative of one of the winning social enterprises, Rethy Fashion, remarked: "We highly appreciated the invaluable professional support we received from the NESsT staff and the Citi volunteers during the ten months of this program. Their assistance helped us a lot identify our strengths and weaknesses and select a strategy for developing our business idea with the most potential for sustainably growing our business in the long run."

28 Citi Hungary volunteers engaged in this program by evaluating business plans and providing business mentoring.

The NESsT-Citi Social Enterprise Development Program is supported by the Citi Foundation and continues with the 2013/2014 Program and Competition which will be announced this September.

Award winning businesses receiving funding and advisory and training for one year:

Réthy Fashion (Budapest) - Award: US $7,000: Réthy Fashion designs, creates and sells unique, fashionable and affordable clothing products that are made of recycled jeans material. The social enterprise involves marginalized people in the collection and selection process of the raw materials.

Family-Friendly City Social Cooperative (Budapest) - Award: US $7,000: The social cooperative is launching a family-friendly café in the heart of Budapest, where they offer courses designed for mothers with small children with the aim of helping them improve their employability skills so that they can successfully reintegrate into society and reenter the world of work when they are returning from maternity leave.

Li-Ko 97’ Kft. (Vác) – Award: US $7,000: Through its pilot project the social enterprise aims to introduce a simple sign system in a small town, Vac to enhance accessibility of public spaces for people with physical disabilities. The service they offer to local retailers extends to mapping, providing information and consultancy and placing signs.

Award winning business receiving advisory and training for one year:

BEN-Team Bt. (Budapest): BEN-Team is planning to open a handicraft chocolate factory employing people with autism and launch an internship program for people with autism giving them the opportunity to discover their suitability for employment and ability for integration in a working environment.