A few months ago, at partnership with the "la Caixa" Foundation, IESE collaborated in a social entrepreneurship program in which it is helping, among other things with training at management and accompaniment, entrepreneurs in twenty social projects. If it is already refreshing to work with entrepreneurs who, with new ideas, want to create companies that generate value for society, jobs and wealth, it is even more refreshing to work with social entrepreneurs who also seek to help people with disabilities or at risk of social exclusion, improve the health and well-being of people, promote rural development , promote sustainable energies or the recycling of products, etc.

These entrepreneurs are clear that their projects, even though they are social, must be managed according to the same rules as any other business, ensuring adequate financing and generating resources, providing themselves with an appropriate organization and a good team, analyzing the market, customers and competitors, etc. No matter how much it is said, the social aspect alone does not sell.

It is sad to see how, at a time when these projects are becoming more necessary, aid to social enterprises is in danger, without taking into account the triple bottom line, i.e., not only the economic results but also the social and environmental results they provide. What is the value of giving work to a mentally handicapped person or a person at risk of social exclusion? How much does it cost the State for that person not to work? I encourage social enterprises to make these calculations visible to make visible the value they bring to society.

And I encourage all those who have in mind to start or join social projects to do so. Most entrepreneurs say that if they had known at the beginning what it would cost them, they would not have tried; but no one regrets it, no one gives up. Why is that?