On October 1st, 2020 Severozapad Project Foundation marked the International Day of the Elderly people gathered government official, friends, supporters and local community to discuss the perspectives and the barriers in front of the development of the social entrepreneurship in Bulgaria and particular and in the Northeast part of the country.
Representatives of BCause Foundation, UniCredit Bulbank, Bulstrad Life Insurance, JTI Bulgaria, and the AmCham Bulgaria team were welcomed by Yana Rupeva, Executive Director of Severozapad Foundation at the village of Lyutbrod, Mezdra Municipality. The foundation team cooks on a daily basis for hundreds of elderly people in 12 villages there. This social enterprise is not funded by donations only but by selling the prepared home-made food to local businesses and institutions in the region.
At the conference took part Ms. Sultanka Petrova, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Mr. Ivan Asparoukhov, Mayor of Mezdra, Ms. Elitsa Barakova, Executive Director of BCause Foundation, Daniel Kiryakov, Communications and Public Affairs Manager of AmCham Bulgaria, representatives of local authorities, businesses, NGOs. There were present also young people with disadvantages who make hand-made jewels and souvenirs.
“The social and solidarirty economy is something important because it creates jobs and creates opportunities for socialization of vulnerable groups – people with disadvantages, parents who raise their disadvantaged children, elderly people. It is also important because they create conditions people to remain at the small villages and towns,” said Deputy Minister Petrova at the opening.
Ms. Petrova pointed out that the Project Severozapad NGO is among the first registered social enterprises in Bulgaria in the newly established register of the Labor Ministry. The Social Enterprises Law was adopted in 2018.
“We are extremely grateful to each and every donor to our project,” said Yana Rupeva. Since 2014 she is the main engine behind the project. It started operational at the end of 2018. “Today we have a fully operational modern canteen that follows all requirements,” she said also.
Ms. Rupeva pointed out that despite the provided legal framework for the social enterprises to grow and develop, the road for real social entrepreneurship is still long way ahead. “The controlling institutions are still watching us as we are thieves. Over those years we have not received a single call from any institution to give us some help or support,” she pointed out. The ease of the administrative burden and well as providing more clear rules will makes NGO’s work smoother.
Elitsa Barakova, Executive Director of BCause Foundation said that there were growing number of business representatives and venture capital that point their sight at the social enterprises.
“It is said that each fifth enterprise is social – and at the social sector the number of people that want to make their own living is growing also. Social entrepreneurs are unique people who are led by a mission, realize their responsibility, accept the fact that they have to take risk to make profit, they start to work at full throttle,” explained Elitsa in her vivid fashion.
“The social and the NGO sectors are just like Baron Munchausen – they have to pull themselves out of the captivity and lack of acknowledgement by making real content and to deliver,” said Daniel Kiryakov, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, AmCham Bulgaria.
He appealed to the business and the authorities to take consecutive measures in their support to the social enterprises, and to overcome the desire of having single donations and support.
About the Severozapad Project
For more about the Northwest Project Foundation, check their website, their Facebook page or to call Yana Rupeva at +359889634455.