Well, the whole of Hamburg! Okay, formally speaking, the “Hamburg Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship” association launched this brand and is its owner. The association was founded in 2023 to bring the Social Entrepreneurship Strategy of the City of Hamburg, developed under the leadership of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, to life. Each of the five board members represents a different sector: foundation, welfare, academia, government, and civil society. The operational work has been entrusted to a five-member office team led by Managing Director Boris Kozlowski.

But all these people are nothing without the many. We can only make the Social Entrepreneurship City Hamburg grow and thrive if the entire ecosystem gets involved – in other words, stakeholders from the diverse fields of action across our city. The Social Entrepreneurship City – that’s all of us together.

For all those who share our goals, who have a desire for social change with a view to the common good, who want to tackle and overcome social challenges. Social entrepreneurs are at the centre of the ecosystem. But like every entrepreneur, they also need help from many sides: from the administration, from politicians, from foundations, from people from civil society – and, of course, from investors. Because without courageous people who invest in this type of business, it won’t work.

That’s why Social Entrepreneurship City is an invitation to the entire ecosystem to drive the transformation forward and sees itself as a hub for all relevant players. And even if our services are primarily aimed at (future) social entrepreneurs: We are also on hand to answer all other questions and create meeting places and networking opportunities.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Anyone who shares the values and goals of the city can and should definitely take part. Because even if it’s essentially about social entrepreneurs, big impact requires alliances and allies from the city’s most diverse fields of activity. So if, like us, you are interested in a liveable Hamburg for all people and perhaps already have an idea or two in your luggage, you should get in touch with us right away. And who knows: the fact that we don’t run a social enterprise now doesn’t mean that it will stay that way in the future.

Anyone who shares our vision is welcome to get in touch at any time. There are often companies that make a big difference to society but do not see themselves as social enterprises. To help you classify yourselves and to help us understand exactly what you do, we have prepared a small catalogue of questions, which is also the application form to become part of the Social Entrepreneurship City. If you are unsure whether the City is right for you and whether you are right for the City, it is better to apply than to doubt.

No. Because there is already a lot out there. Before we launch something new, we would rather work on ensuring that the existing programmes find their way to social entrepreneurs or open up to social enterprises. The Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank (IFB) in particular is very committed to revising its existing programmes.