What kind of legal framework is necessary to promote social entrepreneurship in Austria?
In order to find out about what it takes to create a better situation for social entrepreneurs in Austria, we talked to Michael Reiter, founder and chairman of “die fairmittlerei”, a social enterprise for waste avoidance that conveys usable donations (from the non-food area) to charitable organizations.
Michael Reiter, founder and chairman of die fairmittlerei
Michael explains that the path to success is through a good business idea, commitment, perseverance and self-reflection, whether or not the company is a social enterpreneur. The understanding of success may vary somewhat from company to company. For him, however, being successful means first and foremost being profitable and growing. Because, the more business he has, the greater the scope of social and ecological impact of his company becomes.
According to his expierience, the main problem for every startup, be it in providing social added value or not, is getting workforce in order to establish itself and to grow. And normally, workforce can only be acquired with money.
Consequently, if the situation for social entrepreneurs should be improved and a more entrepreneurial climate should be created in the social area, the access to money and funding opportunities should be facilitated and the tax burden should be reduced. Thus, a new company form that accounts for the factors mentioned could certainly bring relief to the social entrepreneurship scene in Austria.
To create a uniform basis for social entrepreneurship in Austria, the “Senat der Wirtschaft” already demands the creation of a new legal form, called the “S-GmbH”, that specifically fits the needs of social entrepreneurs and forms a transparent framework for social businesses (Senat der Wirtschaft 2018, online).
With regards to the latest political development, this topic now seems to be receiving more attention than ever before. “The Federal Government is committed to increasing legal certainty for EPUs and KMUs and also to significantly reduce the burden on them. […] The role of „social entrepreneurs“, who face new challenges with innovative business models, should be given special consideration.” (Regierungsprogramm 2020-2024, 94).
Evidently, the social entrepreneurship scene now finally seems to receive hearing at a political level. Hence, many exciting developments can be expected in the future.
If you want to find out more about social entrepreneurship in Austria, stay tuned for more information. Also visit the social media profiles and website of us and “die fairmittlerei” to get more information!
You want to learn more about diefairmittlerei? Check out their Website, Facebook and LinkedIn Profile.
Sources:
Regierungsprogramm 2020-2024 (2020): Aus Verantwortungfür Österreich.Regierungsprogramm 2020–2024.
Senat der Wirtschaft (2018): Sozialunternehmertum verbindet soziale Wirkung mit Budget-Entlastung! Dafür braucht es optimierte Rahmenbedingungen. http://senat-oesterreich.at/plaedoyer/2018-nr-2-social-entrepreneurship-rahmenbedingungen/. Access on January 28th, 2020
Credits:
Michael Reiter, founder and chairman of die fairmittlerei http://www.diefairmittlerei.at/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Die-Fairmittlerei-Spenden%C3%BCbergabe_1-credits-Sofie-H%C3%B6rtler-1024×792.jpg
diefairmittlerei team http://www.diefairmittlerei.at/wp-content/Downloads/Fotos/Fairmittlerei_Feierei-9843.jpg
Facebook: Social or impact entrepreneurs should be given “special consideration”. The recently published government program for 2020 – 2024 pays special attention towards socially orientated enterprises. Find out more about social Entrepreneurship.
LinkedIn: What does it take for social or impact entrepreneurship to prospers in Austria? There still are many obstacles that hinder innovative founders from establishing their ideas. However, first steps towards a promising direction are already foreseeable: Find out more!
Twitter: “Social Entrepreneurship” as a concept to generate social and ecological added value. Find out more about what it takes to create a social friendly entrepreneurial environment in Austria.