Business & Entrepreneurs

Event celebrates Oxfordshire businesses as a force for good

By Sarah Edwards
November 13, 2020
at 4:26pm

Organisations from across Oxfordshire are coming together to take part in POP2020: Power of Purpose Week, celebrating business as a force for good.

Power of Purpose week coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week, and Social Enterprise Day on November 19, and is a festival of events and activities in collaboration with key partners and stakeholders across Oxfordshire celebrating business as a force for good, and providing support for businesses at this critical time.

At the heart of the week will be a showcase of some of the inspiring work taking place as part of eScalate, an enterprise support programme being delivered by OSEP, working with OxLEP Business, and funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

OSEP CIC is a Social Enterprise, set up to support social entrepreneurs, Social Enterprises, enterprising charities and purposeful business across Oxfordshire – all trading as a way to address social and environmental challenges.

Social entrepreneurship is a growing force for change. People from all walks of life are looking at new ways of addressing social and environmental issues. Social entrepreneurs and innovators are setting up and running business ventures that trade for a social and/or environmental purpose. OSEP has been set up to help existing and prospective social entrepreneurs plan, develop and grow their businesses.

eScalate supports social enterprises, social entrepreneurs, enterprising charities and purposeful businesses through workshops, peer to peer sessions, one to ones, and grant funding.

OSEP is working with OxLEP, Oxfordshire’s Local Enterprise Partnership, to deliver eScalate, a three-year project, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which runs until March 2022 to support Social Enterprises, social entrepreneurs, enterprising charities and purposeful businesses in Oxfordshire. Support includes workshops, peer to peer sessions, one to ones and grant funding.

16/11/20: How to Scale Your Purpose Project with Richard Kennell, CEO of SOFEA community larder

POP2020: Power of Purpose Week Events include:

18/11/20: OSEP’s Virtual Social Enterprise and Buyer Meet Up for Oxfordshire hosted by Paul Roberts and Sophie Kilmister from Aspire Oxfordshire. Buyers include Oxford City Council, Blenheim Palace and Oxford University, alongside Social Value UK

19/11/20: Tap Social Business ‘Taster’ & Pub Quiz with a chance to meet other social entrepreneurs and hear how Tap has inspired the next generation of social enterprises

20/11/20: Social Enterprise and Climate Action: Where Are We At? CAG Oxfordshire will be in discussion with Pip Wheaton from Ashoka

20/11/20: Town Sq, based at the Eco Business Centre in Bicester, will be discussing The Future of Work and how we can create productive and sustainable workplaces

eScalate programme manager, Ashley Cavers said: “Increasingly, businesses are recognising their social and environmental responsibility, and the importance of business as a force for good. POP2020 celebrates that, and showcases the inspiring work being done through the eScalate programme to support the growing number of purposeful businesses in Oxfordshire.”

Paul Roberts, CEO of Aspire Oxfordshire commented added: “The inaugural Power of Purpose week is all about celebrating business as a force for good in Oxfordshire, and this is needed more now than ever before. As a leading social enterprise in Oxfordshire and as one of OSEP’s eScalate Hubs, Aspire wants to play its part to realise greater social and environmental impact in the county. A key way of doing this is by enabling local Buyers to deliver social value through procuring their goods and services from more social enterprises. Cultivating relationships between Oxfordshire’s Buyers and social enterprises is critical to achieving this, so our virtual gathering on November 18 is an exciting and important step forwards.”

Sarah Beal, Growth Hub Programme Executive at OxLEP Business added:

“We are delighted to be a part of the inaugural Power of Purpose event; showcasing OxLEP’s eScalate programme which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Working with OSEP CIC, the eScalate programme supports social enterprises and other purposeful businesses to strengthen their contribution to their communities and to the local economy. POP2020 offers a range of fantastic events and activities to support these enterprises for social good.”