At a time when a lot of support funds are drying up and the government's 'big society' bank is still in the planning stages social enterprises need to know who they can turn to for money and how to encourage people to invest in their business.
In our live Q&A, we'll look at:
- What investment options exist
- Who can help you to raise capital
- How you can appear more attractive to investors
If you would like to be a panelist please get in touch with Nick Petrie
Also, if you'd like to leave a question, please do so in the comments section below, or come back to ask it live - and to follow the debate - on Thursday 14 April from 1-3pm.
You can also follow our Q&As on Twitter, under the hashtag #socentqa
The Panel
Rodney Schwartz, Clearly So
Rodney is CEO of ClearlySo, the world's first marketplace for social business & enterprise, commerce and investment, which connects over 1,900 social businesses & enterprises with capital and other resources. Rodney's background is equities and venture capital and he currently advises leading UK social enterprises (e. g. the HCT Group, Justgiving), lectures at the Said Business School (Oxford), and is on the Board of the Ethical Property Company and The Green Thing (Chairman).
Gareth Zahir-Bill
Gareth has been financing the social and environmental economies for the past 8 years following his previous experience in commercial and corporate banking. Gareth was involved in the establishment of the UK's first social enterprise equity investment fund and has analysed 100s of investment and lending opportunities to organisations in the third sector. Amongst other things he is currently working with UnLtd - The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, providing investment readiness advice to Social Entrepreneurs.
David Thomas, Danaqa
We are a privately owned venture with a very strong social mission - we are a retail outlet sourcing all our products from small and medium sized businesses in developing countries, we provide business support to our suppliers and have a commitment to allocate a small percentage of the business to a foundation that wil reinvest in the communities that we source from. Importantly - for the discussion - we raised capital for our business through a strong business plan and share issuing.
Simi Shah, Social Investment Business
Simi is head of investments at The Social Investment Business. Prior to joining The Social Investment Business, Simi provided consultancy services to the Social Enterprise marketplace in the UK and US. She offered consultation and research services to funding organisations, social venture funds, corporate foundations and private investors operating in the third sector along with providing benchmark reports on fundraising capacity for mid-sized non-profit organisations.
Stephen Rockman, Merism
Stephen is the founder of Merism a new seed fund and incubator investing between £50,000 and £150, 000 for equity in start-up social businesses. He has been mentoring social entrepreneurs for the past 4 years.
Richard Kennedy, CAN
Richardhas worked with CAN since April 2007 and is Head of Social Investment. He runs all CAN Invest activities including CAN's Breakthrough venture philanthropy fund and CAN's SROI (social return on investment) consultancy. Richard is also a non-executive director of The SROI Network
Steven Leach, UnLtd
TBC
Clearly So and the Guardian seminar
How can social enterprises raise the capital they need?
A half-day seminar from Guardian professional in association with ClearlySo
Where is the money? How do you get it? The Guardian's half-day seminar in association with ClearlySo will provide you with the knowledge, tools and tactics to raise the finance you need to make your social enterprise a success
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To find out about forthcoming Q&As, sign up to the social enterprise network.
