NEWS RELEASE
NORDIK INSTITUTE
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NORDIK, the Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (SEE) Northern Region Partnership and PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise are excited to announce the two-year extension of Social Enterprise Northern Ontario, or ‘SENO’, a micro-loans and grants program to support capacity building for social enterprises.
SENO has supported more than 40 social enterprises in northern Ontario within the last two years and its renewal encompasses several enhancements to capacity building, training and support for social enterprises, starting from the conceptualization stage, to understanding the skills and components of owning and managing a business, to writing a funding application.
Social Enterprises engage citizens and spark community change through developing innovative ideas and employment opportunities while responding to social, cultural and environmental needs.
They differ from other small businesses in that they use the “triple bottom line” (People, Planet, Profit) to assess success, and their governance structure often reflects community or collective control, such as with cooperatives or non-profits.
“One needs to be very prepared to take on business ownership, and this process helps interested Social Entrepreneurs understand all of the business models and many structural options available to them,” says Elizabeth MacMillan, NORDIK’s SENO contact for the north east Region.
The project catchment area stretches throughout Northern Ontario from Parry Sound to the Manitoba border and all areas in between.
The first intake is open and registration for interested participants is due July 4. Applications can be accessed through the PARO/SENO website or in Northeastern Ontario through the SEE website.
NORDIK Institute is Algoma University’s community based research institute whose goal is to build Northern Ontario’s capacity to conduct research that contributes to social, economic and environmental justice in rural, Indigenous and northern communities and provides evidence for informed policy and decision making.
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