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If you came here today, then, most likely, you not only dream of changing the world, but are also ready to get down to business.

If you came here today, then, most likely, you are not interested in conventional concepts and success stories, but in the principles of building a business based on wisdom and the desire to share with others.

If you came here today, then, most likely, you have a keen sense of injustice and respect the ability to find effective solutions.
If you came here today, then you are a kind of revolutionary, a violator of the usual order, who is ready to go beyond simply "good" or even "better" and, more importantly, able to pave the way for those who, like you, dream about changing the world.

I come from Eastern Ukraine. In 2014, I had to leave my home, my job, my homeland and start everything from scratch in a new place in the city of millionaires, where I lacked social contacts, resources, trust, and strength to live on. It was hard for me to get my footing. But I managed to get control. In 2016, I launched my own business. At first it was ordinary, but then I realized that I can't just provide services, because I'm used to thinking and working on a large scale, taking into account the interests of the main stakeholders.

Not everyone is as lucky in life as I am - to start life from scratch, from a clean sheet, but I had such a chance. This is how my social business was born.

I started by drawing out my goals and then thought about the steps I would need to take to achieve my goals. But I quickly realized that my and many other public and private attempts, at the same time, do not take a key aspect.

Now my speech will be a bit like a presentation at a scientific conference, I am a serious person, everyone who does not know me closely thinks so, in fact, I have such a peculiar sense of humor - to make fun out of serious things, this is also social entrepreneurship - to enjoy everything what you do for others.

Today, it is impossible to call a business social if it does not provide an opportunity for individual individuals and social groups to shape their future. However, the desire for the public good and the protection of social justice alone is not enough. Companies can be "responsible", "ethical", "sustainable", "organic", etc., but not belong to the universe of social entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurs are distinguished by the fact that, through their active actions, they change and eliminate the uneven balance, do not agree to "ordinary" improvements, but create new rules that are fundamentally different from the previous ones, and implement scalable solutions that are supported by a value proposition and are able to strengthen the ecosystem of the renewed balance.

From a practical point of view, this means that the existing approach, which is widespread throughout the world and is reduced to responding to situational challenges or problems, does not meet the task of social entrepreneurship to change systems from within. Moreover, on a global scale, this means that the UN Millennium Goals will not be achieved, all because we know too little about the people for whom our social businesses function. If you do not listen to the voice of the beneficiaries, which ultimately allows you to reveal the potential of social entrepreneurship, then this potential will simply be lost. Question: What does the world really need?

On the one hand, the answer is as obvious as it is laid out in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. The concept of Tsur is about basic human needs, such as the need for funds for existence, protection, understanding, participation, expression of one's identity and freedom. In other words, the idea of ​​tsur assumes that there is some consensus about human needs that we all share. But this is not so: it is important to understand that needs are not and cannot be universal, since they differ in time and space due to different national and cultural values, customs, standards and preferences. In conditions of such diversity, it is absurd to assume that we know exactly what the representatives of this or that community or social group need. Instead, it is important to give people the opportunity to develop their abilities and independently satisfy their basic needs, however they see them. I am now talking about the importance of a condition that directly affects human well-being - the ability to manage one's life. This motivates me to formulate Sustainable Development Goal 18: to encourage and strengthen the capacity of individuals and communities to actively participate in shaping the global agenda for sustainable development. The real ability of beneficiaries to freely choose a future they value or have reason to value is a serious test for the Millennium Goals.

And this is precisely the moment where social entrepreneurship can play its transformative role. The task of social entrepreneurship is to create new models for providing products and services to direct beneficiaries to meet their basic needs that remain unsatisfied by current economic or social institutions. In order for this to work, it is important to give beneficiaries the opportunity to express their ideas and concerns about certain business or social interventions. Forget about meeting basic human needs, such as the need to eradicate child slavery, respect women's rights, and provide decent working conditions. Make your own contribution to improving the ability of the beneficiaries themselves to meet these needs. Do not impose your options on individual beneficiaries and social groups. Provide an alternative to existing options and therefore increase people's ability to freely choose among alternative solutions.

I have favorites, one of them is the multi-level social enterprise Pizza Veterano

The boys returned from the war, they were not hired, they were feared. They themselves decided to create jobs for themselves, opened a pizzeria. All veterans were invited and trained. Adaptation to a normal life took place through hard work, but in addition, a psychologist works in the staff and helps the boys. Everyone has the right to return to any other activity after recovering. He will even be helped to open his own business. Now it is one of the successful chains, including cafes and restaurants. This is a systematic solution to the problems of the target audience.

In order for you to understand whether your social business solutions are working in the interests of people and communities, the voice of the beneficiaries must be heard - either directly or through representatives. Remember that engaging stakeholders requires mutual learning and helps you understand what people really want. Never neglect the feedback mechanism. Without at least the consent of the beneficiaries, human development remains a dream of the poor and a fantasy of the more fortunate. I propose to go beyond the framework of building global partnerships, which is dedicated to the specified Tsur No. 17. Sustainable development goals should be aimed at achieving specific results. But your results will never be convincing if the beneficiaries of your business are not able to build their lives the way they want to see them.

The relevance of the 18th century for social entrepreneurship lies in the perception and recognition by the beneficiaries of the degree to which the initiatives of social entrepreneurs are aimed at their well-being and the development of their abilities. Involving beneficiaries to assess the value of business initiatives aimed at achieving targets #3, 4 and 5 (that is, ensuring healthy lives, inclusive and equitable quality education and gender equality) is relatively easy to organize. As for the direct feedback to the beneficiaries in relation to points 12, 13 and 14 (that is, ensuring sustainable consumption and production, taking measures to combat climate change and protect the oceans), it is much more difficult. But that shouldn't stand in the way of social entrepreneurs seeking solutions to some of the most challenging problems we face in our countries and communities. Yes, you will have to interact with civil society organizations, a free press, and even state authorities, but the beauty of such cooperation lies in its synergistic effect, when 1 + 1 = 11.

But more importantly, and this brings me back to the topic of my talk, is the reverse logic of beneficiary needs assessment, which starts with what is ultimately the goal of social entrepreneur initiatives in terms of human development as a whole, and therefore requires a different approach to the demonstration of the results.

And again about my approach - it is so serious that it combines all the strengths of the strategies of world leaders and commanders. When I talk about this, I take off my businesswoman hat and put on my activist hat. When clients come to me who are ashamed of the social component of their business, if I tell them that they have a classic social enterprise, they are afraid that they will be perceived as a charity, I reassure them that the opposite happens.

So, the action plan:

- Start by analyzing what you want to achieve, then move on to formulating the steps necessary to realize your goal.

- Think about the contribution of your business project to the transformation of value chains, how your project will contribute to human development and the prosperity of communities.

In the search for answers to these questions, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals act as a kind of practical anchor of your entrepreneurial activity, and taking into account the opinion of the beneficiaries about the values ​​of your business project is a compass.

Do not forget that it is impossible to understand the essence of societal change by analyzing the business initiatives of individual entrepreneurs, even if they are based on a rational plan to solve certain social or environmental problems. We can understand whether our business intervention was effective only by analyzing the links in the value creation chains and the interaction between the involved (public, non-profit and private) entities.

Thus, if you ask me to answer the question: how should a social entrepreneur navigate an uncertain future, then I will answer this way. Remember that social entrepreneurship is not the destiny of superheroes who save the world. Everyone can do it. You just need to be able to ask, listen to the answers and observe. Remember that what is important should not be in the power of the secondary, and do not be afraid to be a part of that creative force that can make our world more harmonious.