2019 – Addis Ababa
Theme: Local traditions – Fresh perspectives
British Council and Social Enterprise Ethiopia hosted SEWF 2019 in Addis Ababa on 23 – 25 October 2019. British Council’s work on social enterprise in Ethiopia began in 2015 and gathered speed quickly, using expertise from British Council’s well-established Global Social Enterprise programme, which had been ongoing since 2005, understanding of local context and longstanding institutional relationships (office opened in Ethiopia 75 years ago).
Ethiopia is home to a young and dynamic movement: 75% of social enterprises have only been operating since 2010 and nearly half of all leaders are aged under 35. With support from the European Union, British Council has acted as a catalyst for Ethiopia’s emerging social enterprise movement with significant interest and support from Ethiopian government representatives.
- 1,312 delegates
- 71 countries and territories represented
- 30% of delegates were from Ethiopia
- 17% of delegates were from other countries in Africa
- 195 speakers from 35 countries and territories
- 55% of speakers identified as female
- 24% speakers were under 35
- 47% of speakers were social entrepreneurs from Africa
- #SEWF2019 and #SEWFAddis hashtags reached 10 million with 42.6m impressions from 6,726 mentions by 1779 users.
- 95% of delegates surveyed expressed that they were satisfied with the overall experience.
- SEWF 2019 raised awareness of social enterprise across Ethiopia, including further support and recognition from government.
- The EU announced its Innovation Fund to support social enterprises with innovative ideas.
- IKEA and Acumen partnerships launched at SEWF 2019 to support the social enterprise sector in Ethiopia and East Africa.
- British Council worked with SEWF to calculate the carbon impact of the event using the methodology developed in SEWF’s 2019 climate change strategy, resulting in a carbon offset payment of £12,606 to SELCO Foundation in India. This provided financing for sustainable lighting solutions for 400 households and energy solutions for 10 schools benefiting 600 students.
- The British Council committed to putting significant emphasis and resource into planning, delivering and monitoring the local legacy outcomes from SEWF.