This document outlines a social entrepreneurship competition for secondary school students. It describes: 1) An approach involving lectures, research, mentorship and team presentations to generate business ideas that address social problems. 2) Key topics from introductory lectures on social entrepreneurship and innovation, including defining social entrepreneurship and providing examples. 3) Intended outcomes such as increasing awareness of social entrepreneurship and improving students' skills in areas like critical thinking, collaboration and English.

1. 1
Module 2 “Learning By Doing”
Topic: Social Entrepreneurship
Methodological guidelines
Approach: To involve secondary school students studying Economics (age 16-19) in the
form of an international competition of business ideas. Lecturers and assessors are the
professionals from Stockholm School of Economics, Riga (SSE,Riga). SSE, Riga students
and teachers of Economics are involved as mentors to help the finalist teams from schools
to develop their ideas for the final presentations.
Methods:
- 2 lectures delivered by the experts from SSE, Riga to introduce and explain the
topic, to define the focus and explain the assessment criteria. The lectures could be
attended or viewed on-line as video recordings.
- Independent research of students by investigating additional information on the
topic “Social Entrepreneurship”, identifying the local examples of existing
companies.
- Consultations of the school teachers of Economics in order to prepare the 1st and
the 2nd description for the team’s business idea.
- Mentorship of SSE,Riga students for the 2nd phase participants.
- Out-of-class team work of 2-4 students to prepare the business idea description
and the final presentation (in English).
- Visits to the existing business companies, interviews.
Outcomes:
- Increased awareness of the secondary school students and teachers of Economics
regarding the topic “Social Entrepreneurship”. The topic is not covered in detail in
the standard Secondary school curriculum in Latvia, Estonia and Sweden, but is a
hot topic in real business environment.
- Improved English language skills and terminology of Economics for students.
- Improved life-long-learning skills: analytical and critical thinking skills,
presentation and team-work skills, collaboration and research skills.
- Generated 12 excellent business ideas with the future potential thus taking the
topic out of pure classroom and theoretical environment and enhancing the
“Learning by Doing” skills, practical experience. Received feasibility feedback
from the experts regarding the generated ideas.
- Created an excellent learning experience in a very creative, interesting and
motivating international environment.
- Opportunity to get acquainted with SSE, Riga students and lecturers which is an
excellent experience for the students planning to continue their studies in the area
of Business and Economics.

2. 2
Content for teaching the topic “Social Entrepreneurship” in Secondary
schools.
The following description is a short summary to outline the basic ideas from the 2 lectures
delivered by the expert from SSE, Riga Mr. Aivars Timofejevs, an expert from Business
and Management Faculty, Manager of Research Projects. This description can be used as
an outline for study material in Economics regarding the topic “Social Entrepreneurship”
(SE) in Secondary school.
Lecture 1 – introduction to the topic (60 min.).
Content: 1. Entrepreneurship,
2. Social Entrepreneurship and how it is different,
3. Social Innovation,
4. Practical suggestions.
1. Is it possible to teach Entrepreneurship? Should business be about what you like?
How creative is business? What would you like to do in business?
Three key drivers for a new business:
a. Financial need (e.g. Skype),
b. Social need (e.g. Facebook),
c. Need for personal development (Richard Branson).
2. Social Entrepreneurship (SE)
a. using business techniques,
b. approach to solve a social problem (environmental, communication, financial,
etc),
c. create some contribution beneficial for certain groups of people (e.g.
handicapped, disabled people, seniors, young mothers, migrants, unemployed,
early school leavers, etc.)
Some good examples of SE on the Internet:

3. 3
- “Tagurpidi Lavka” a company in Estonia selling products
directly from farmers. www.tagurpidilavka.ee
- “Otra Elpa” is a company in Latvia running seceral charity shops.
They accept from community people surplus items (books, footwear, clothes, household
goods, etc.) and sell them within reasonable price limits to those in need.
www.otraelpa.lv
- www.mammu.lv “MAMMU” is a fashion company that
closely cooperates with young Latvian mothers in need. Many of them are less mobile in
the job market due to their inability to work fixed working hours. Rather often these
women cannot enrol their children into a kindergarten, as the number of places available
is limited. If they cannot afford to hire a nanny, a full time job is not an option for them.
The state social benefit is so small that these women virtually have to survive on an
income way below a minimum subsistence level.
- The most typical example of SE – “Epleslang”.
http://mumsmeanbusiness.com/projects/epleslang/
Epleslang is a start-up and social enterprise founded two years ago in Oslo, Norway. They
produce and sell a premium quality, natural apple juice made from unused and wasted
apples, harvested from private gardens around the city with the help of those most in need
of a job. They provide job opportunities for disabled people.
Discussion on value chain:

4. 4
- producer, retailer, shop, client. How to see who will benefit?
3. Social Innovation.
a. offers an effective, sustainable and positive social change.
b. focuses on ideas/solutions to create some long-term social value.
c. tendency to co-operate rather than compete.
Where to get the ideas? Look around for social problems, talk to NGOs, local authorities.
Get inspired by nature, combine impossible, mix and remix individual ideas, prove the
opposite.
Measure it the idea not by money received, but by money provided for disabled people,
number of problems solved.
The task for the teams of 2-4 students:
- Identify a potential social problem in the local vicinity,
- Describe the idea in 2-3 A4 pages,
- Make sure it complies with the assessment criteria (max 20 points):
o Relevance to the topic,
o Impact (who will gain from the idea, how many, what problems are
solved?),
o Level of innovation/originality,
o Possibility of implementation.
Related resources:
1. www.nordplusjunior.org (Business competition: slides of 2 lectures delivered by Mr.
Aivars Timofejevs; video recording of the 2 lectures; 12 presentations of students
– business ideas; Regulations for the Business Competition).
Thanks to Pro-rector Ms. Diana Pauna of SSE, Riga for a long-term support and
cooperation. Thanks to the lecturer and the key expert from SSE, Riga Mr. Aivars
Timofejevs.
Information compiled by the assisting project “Learning Sustainable Skills” co-ordinator
Inga Treimane (Latvia).
01.07.2016.