Situation
PwC UK holds a firm belief in the transformative power of social enterprises. Over the years, they have been working with social entrepreneurs, equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge, to help them expand their networks and grow successful sustainable businesses.
The latest State of Social Enterprise report from Social Enterprise UK shows that there are over 131,000 social enterprises in the UK, generating a profit in excess of £1.2 billion and employing around 2.3 million people UK wide1.
Our collaboration with social entrepreneurs, the exchange of our team’s expertise, and our commitment to their growth are fundamental to PwC UK’s purpose of building trust in society and solving important problems. This initiative aligns seamlessly with PwC UK’s successful social mobility programme Through the PwC UK Social Entrepreneurs Club, we provide a platform for entrepreneurs to network with peers and PwC professionals. As members, they gain exclusive access to a range of opportunities for networking, skills development and mentorship.
1 Mission Critical: State of Social Enterprise Survey 2023', Social Enterprise UK, November 2023
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PwC UK founded the Social Entrepreneurs Club in 2011 with an aim to bring social enterprises together for social innovation and support them to measure their social impact. The club centres around five core offerings, providing members the opportunity to select the activities that will help them the most. Any UK based social enterprise can apply to be part of the club so long as they meet the set out criteria. New members are welcomed to the Club each month and PwC UK tailors activities around the emerging needs of members.
The core offerings the club focuses on are:
- Mentoring - PwC UK mentors are matched with social entrepreneurs based on the specific skills and guidance they need.These mentors play a crucial role in helping social entrepreneurs navigate key issues and challenges, clarifying technical jargon, exploring all available options and routes, and providing support as they advance through various stages of business growth.
- Coaching - PwC UK coaches listen, question and offer guidance and different perspectives. They support social entrepreneurs through the issues and challenges they face as they grow their venture. PwC UK coaches draw on their wide experience, knowledge and connections within PwC to ensure social entrepreneurs have access to specific experts when needed.
- Group Coaching Clinics - Coaching Clinics are run monthly and offer social entrepreneurs the chance to work through an issue they are facing with a small group of PwC UK volunteers. The volunteers help the social entrepreneur get to the heart of their issue, identify solutions and a way forward. Coaching helps social entrepreneurs gain different perspectives and build closer relationships with PwC UK coaches.
- Networking - Networking events connect members with peers and other leaders from the social enterprise community, as well as a wider PwC network of staff and clients. They typically focus on a topic or current theme with a panel of expert speakers.
- Skills development - PwC UK run regular interactive masterclasses for members, to enhance their skills and develop new ones in both business and personal development topics. Business related topics include: accounting; finance; impact measurement; proposal writing and digital media. Personal development masterclasses include: mental health awareness, storytelling, facilitation, wellbeing, time management and building networks.
- Capacity building and bespoke support - PwC UK offers a variety of customised programmes designed to help Club members scale their enterprises and realise their ambitions. These include support for supply chain readiness, strategic planning sessions, consultancy services, and design thinking workshops.
“I wanted to let you know how fantastic the recent Group Coaching session was that I attended. The PwC volunteer team were genuinely interested in our social enterprise and keen to help solve our problems. I left with a combination of solutions to implement and other areas to explore on topics that I had previously been pulling my hair out over. It was such a fantastic experience and I'm ever so grateful to your team and the wider PwC team for their help.”
“The Design Thinking masterclass was excellent training and we can adapt the materials to our context in Sierra Leone, taking into consideration the limited access to the internet. It also fits our community engagement work of collaborating to solve critical problems with energy access. The masterclass was timely and we'll be able to use the method and matrix as we move into new Solar Home Systems using PAYGO technology.”
Impact #togetherwesolve
In fiscal year 2023, PwC UK volunteers spent over 5,600 hours supporting 382 beneficiary social enterprise leaders.
“Our focus going forward is to support social entrepreneurs with digital upskilling and deep dive skills development sessions to help them scale. This is a fantastic example of New World New Skills in action and empowers social entrepreneurs to be the disruptors of tomorrow.”
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Colm Kelly
Global Corporate Sustainability Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited
Global Corporate Sustainability Managing Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited