The federal government wants to make work easier for companies and company founders in the social sector that are oriented towards the common good with the help of a comprehensive catalog of funding. The cabinet approved a corresponding “national strategy” on Wednesday, which includes a total of 70 suggestions for improvement. They are to be implemented step by step over the coming months; in most cases, no legal changes are even necessary.
Companies that not only want to make money with their products or services but are also committed to social goals are considered companies oriented towards the common good. This could be, for example, the creation of fair supply chains, a climate-neutral production method or the targeted hiring of people from marginalized social groups. The companies are allowed to make profits, but they have to invest the majority of the profits back into their social work. In addition, company founders in the social sector, so-called social innovators, should also be supported. These include citizens, groups or associations that, for example, develop new care concepts, new applications for technical devices, new networks or mobility concepts. Such companies often arise at universities or on the initiative of civil society groups.
So far, companies oriented towards the common good have been excluded from many funding programs
What all companies in this area have in common is that they often have difficulties getting bank loans or that the chambers of commerce and industry cannot help them due to a lack of knowledge. The companies are also effectively excluded from many government funding programs because the ministries, authorities and development banks, for example, base their allocation of funds solely on the question of whether a newly founded company is likely to be economically successful and how technologically innovative it is. In the future, it should also play a role whether a company breaks interesting new ground in the social sector.
The initiative, which was developed jointly by the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Education, does not provide for any new funding or subsidies worth millions. Nor should any new, state-funded economic sector be created. Rather, the government wants to promote entrepreneurship by opening up existing funding programs for companies oriented towards the common good or, where this is not possible, by setting up corresponding programs. In addition, bureaucratic hurdles for non-profit companies are to be reduced and cooperative law is to be reformed.
In order to be able to provide targeted support to companies oriented towards the common good, innovation and start-up centers with professional advisors are to be created throughout the country and financing offers are to be expanded. When awarding contracts, the state also wants to take social-ecological criteria into account in the future, and it should also do so at the Internet address www.socialinnovations.net From October onwards there will be a central contact point for company founders in the social sector. The government also wants to open its so-called micromezzanine fund to non-profit, public interest companies. Mezzanine capital is a mixed form of debt and equity, which is granted, for example, in the form of subordinated loans or silent partnerships.