Yesterday I participated in one of these known and recognized international (social) innovation conferences and met many social entrepreneurs, investors and representatives of huge companies.

Let me share just some impressions and thoughts:
It was an interesting day: Interesting topics and interesting people. The idea of bringing them together is excellent. Having good connections is the first step into the right directions, the one that can make the difference.

But what else?
What most of the social entrepreneurs need is pragmatic support. So, one of the topics that always come up is the demand for funding. And that’s a valid and essential problem for those who are planning or already working in social enterprises. There are so many good ideas around. And in most of the cases the social benefit and need is obvious.

However, it happened like many other times before…
There still remains an uncomfortable uncertainty on the real outcome. I mean, besides the information exchange, what has really be achieved? Don’t get me wrong, I do not criticize the conference or discussions nor the people, it is more just a thought or doubt, that there are ‘touchable’ solutions available after such a day.

Can be achieved more?
Probably yes. Maybe not immediate solutions for each and every problem that is reported, but an increased number of clear ideas, a transparent expectation management and increased connection building ( not just by chance contacts) that could lead to optimized results.

An important question to ask is also about the presentations of the social entrepreneurs themselves. How can these-come-together sessions lead to optimized results in terms of getting next steps done?

Just a few observations/comments:

What do you think?