For Purpose Tuesdays – Social Entrepreneurs Ireland
At For Purpose, we partner with many fantastic mission-driven organisations to provide graduate roles. We invited one of our previous graduates from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Lydia Redmond, to speak to our current graduates about social entrepreneurship and specifically, the work of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.
Lydia commenced her career with Social Entrepreneurs Ireland in 2019 as a Development Assistant, as part of the For Purpose Social Impact Graduate Programme. Since then, she has been promoted to Development Executive and most recently, Programme Manager.
In her current role, she works on the STEP programme, with a particular focus on the Ideas Academy and Action Lab. They support early stage social entrepreneurs identify a social problem they wish to address and move from idea to action.
What is a Social Entrepreneur?
Social entrepreneurs are society’s problem solvers, who have a unique insight into a social problem with an aim to provide a solution. They have a strong commitment to executing their idea with resilience, determination and a clear vision.
Social entrepreneurs must identify:
- A specific issue within the problem
- The key stakeholders
- Viable solutions
Social Entrepreneurs Ireland
Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has supported more than 500 social entrepreneurs across the country. Some of their alumni include FoodCloud, CoderDojo and MyMind. They are passionate about supporting social entrepreneurs to change Ireland for the better. Their mission is to find individuals with solutions to social problems and support them on every step of their journey. They do this through their programmes, direct funding and community of alumni, funders, and sector leaders.
Lydia explained that Social Entrepreneurs Ireland run a nationwide campaign each year where social entrepreneurs can submit their ideas and be accepted onto their programmes. She spoke with our graduates about what social entrepreneurs need to consider when submitting an application.
Important considerations when reviewing social entrepreneur applications:
- Unique insight into a social problem
- Ideas that have the potential to solve the problem
- Ability and commitment to execute the idea
Graduate Learning Session
In recent years, there have been many fantastic social entrepreneurs tackling social issues in Ireland. It is extremely important for our graduates to learn more about social entrepreneurship as they commence their careers within social impact organisations.
Hereafter, Lydia invited our graduates to complete an interactive task in groups. She asked each team to consider a specific social issue and how they would tackle this problem. It was important for our graduates to understand the process of becoming a social entrepreneur, the potential issues you may face along your journey and how to still achieve your social vision.
“I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the work of SEI and in particular, how one idea can make such a big difference on society. This was a fantastic learning experience and improved my knowledge of social entrepreneurs greatly.” – Aoife Duff, For Purpose Graduate.
Contact Us
If you are interested in learning more about the For Purpose Social Impact Graduate Programme, or the organisations we partner with, visit our page. For more information on current opportunities, visit our Current Vacancies. To speak with the Head of For Purpose directly, contact the Head of For Purpose, Rhonda Wynne.
