News
"Social Entrepreneur 2007 in France" ... and the first prize goes to the founder
of an EQUAL childcare project!!!
February 2008
Question: What is there in common between the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF)
and a French EQUAL project? Answer: Klaus Schwab is the Chairman and Founder of
both the WEF and the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship which awarded
its prize in France for the very first time in 2007. The winner was Anne-Karine
Stocchetti, who was acknowledged for her achievements in the field of childcare
– 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – developed in her Gepetto and Alice EQUAL
projects.
"Since 1998, the Schwab Foundation has been roaming the world in search of
exceptional entrepreneurs, who know how to innovate and make new economic models viable and
profitable, whilst responding to real social, cultural or environmental issues,"
explains Pamela Hartigan, Executive Director of the
Foundation. These social enterprises
can be profit oriented or non-profit organisations, associations or companies
but they have to fulfil following criteria if they are to become one of the top
five finalists:
- Innovation to help the community: the successful social
entrepreneur must have an idea which challenges current practices and through
its implementation actually promotes social change;
- Sustainability: the candidate must prove
that she or he has set up the necessary organisational and financial framework
to make the project viable in the longer term;
- Direct impact: the project must demonstrate
that it deals directly with the intended beneficiaries, that its achievements
are being monitored and properly documented and thus, that its impact is
measurable;
- Transferability: the project promoter
and/or others with similar interests must have undertaken to disseminate
the project's outcomes.
Each year, the Board selects about 20 social entrepreneurs from around the world
and these successful candidates receive financial support for three years.
During this time, they are invited to participate in various Social Entrepreneur
Conferences and the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Davos.
Last year, the final competition was tough, as the other four entries for France
were:
- A network of micro-credit and
micro-insurance;
- A water purification system for the Third
World;
- A project promoting the vocational
integration of disadvantaged people through organic farming;
- An ecologically-friendly car wash.
However, Anne-Karine Stocchetti convinced the ten high-flying members of the WEF
jury that Optimômes,
her childcare company was the best and the most promising candidate. Her project
Gepetto had joined the first
round of EQUAL, followed by Alice in the
second round. Optimômes now has eight members of staff and the whole Gepetto
network employs 45 people. All are
concerned to provide quality care services at
home for children whose parents work on so-called "atypical" schedules and such
parents represent 30% of the workforce, in France. The costs of this service are
borne primarily by the parents' employers but are also partially met by a
means-tested contribution from the family. Since 2003, the two EQUAL projects
have delivered 60,000 hours of childcare to 1,800 children from 1,200 families.
The projects' evaluation has shown that this form of home support has provided
stability for the children and contributed to their development, whilst removing
one of the major obstacles to the employment of their parents, 60% of whom were
single parents. For the employers of the parents, it has also reduced
absenteeism amongst these employees and increased their productivity.
"Never give up, you might just be two seconds away from a miracle happening!"
says
Anne-Karine Stocchetti. Her strategic vision for the future includes a
franchise network of 70 crèches and mini-crèches, auditing services, a series of
mapping tools on childcare as a contribution to local development, a
reinforcement of the partnership with the family benefits services and, last but
not least, promoting the place and role of men in the field of childcare.
Her success has brought her wider public interest and acclaim in France. In
March 2006, she was awarded the Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of
Merit) for her services to the community. Then, in 2007, the Schwab Foundation
prize resulted in her work being featured in the financial magazine,
L'Expansion, which has a wide
circulation within the economic and business sectors in France.
- Download the article
- Click
here for details on the DVDs produced by Gepetto.
Top
