Farewell From GSEN: Sharing Our Journey

As GSEN closes its doors, we are happy to share with you our Legacy Paper: Insights from our Journey.

GSEN was established in 2013, recognising that 1) social entrepreneurs are crucial to building a better society, 2) social entrepreneurs need great support in order to thrive and 3) the more connected the support, the better it is. We set about achieving that by bringing together organisations from around the world, whose missions are to support early stage social entrepreneurs, to be part of the Global Social Entrepreneurship Network.

Since then, we’ve been on quite the journey, bringing together 60 incredible organisations across 6 continents, each launching and supporting social enterprises working to solve some of the most pressing challenges facing society. We feel proud to have played a role in this by bringing together such inspiring minds to have an even bigger impact.

Now our journey is coming to an end, at least in its current form, as GSEN closes its doors. 2020 was a challenging year for us all, one that turned many organisations on their heads, forcing us to reevalutate what we do, what is crititical, and what should be let go of. This can cuase upheaval which, while uncomfortable, leads to a refocusing and finding new opportunities that more closely fit the needs of a fast changing society. So we’re not seeing this as a lost opportunity. Rather, an opportunity to reflect and share what we’ve learned from our adventure. My hope is that by sharing our journey, we can inspire and spark ideas for how you might or might not approach things. It’s an honest account sharing our successes and failures, as well as our thoughts on what is needed for the sector to develop and be able to provide social entrepreneurs with the support they deserve.

Above all, the most important drivers for us have always been our members, and our vision: that social entrepreneurs can one day access the support they need to thrive, no matter where they are in the world. These two drivers remain, and the connections made between our members will continue. We know they will go on to impact more social entrepreneurs around the world who are improving lives and transforming communities.

I’m proud of that, and happy to share our journey with you here in our Legacy Paper: Insights From Our Journey.

Anna Chojnicka

(GSEN Lead)