This is the Innovation and Social Enterprise Lab’s flagship structured advisory offering. It is designed to be a competitive six-month program, targeted at nonprofit organizations who are leaders in health, social justice and rights movements, meant to test and build emerging social enterprise ideas that are rooted in these core impact areas.
Currently, the Social Enterprise Incubator Program is offered in annual cycles to a cohort of participating Fòs Feminista Partner Organizations. It is facilitated by the Fòs Feminista Innovation and Social Enterprise Lab team. Partner Organizations that complete the Program and successfully pitch their model to a panel of experts have access to seed grant funding to pilot their idea.
The Program is anchored in the principles of Human-Centered Design and the innovation framework originally created by IDEO (one of the pioneering firms in the Human-Centered Design and Design Thinking fields), where successful solutions are defined as being desirable (by customers and users),
feasible (with the resources and assets at the reach of organizations), and viable (financially). These methods compel organizations and teams to design models, businesses and strategies that focus on the interests, motivations, needs, expectations, frustrations and desires of their clients, users and beneficiaries.
The Incubator kicks off with a sprint workshop to foster cultural buy-in, shift mindsets, and generate an understanding of Social Enterprise and its key concepts among participants. Throughout the Program, facilitation is adapted to the needs and context of each participating organization, and its contents and delivery are structured in the following way:
Part I: Desirability
Focused on identifying potential clients and gauging their interests, desires, frustrations and needs
a. Customer Discovery
Identifying, exploring and talking to customer segments to understand their needs
b. Value Proposition
Designing an offering that creates satisfaction and solves problems for users and clients
Part II: Feasibility
Focused on analyzing the resources needed to successfully deliver a Value Proposition to users and clients
a. Business Model Canvas
Analyzing clients’ desires and expectations, and the requirements needed to deliver an offering to them
b. Value Chain
Laying out the key activities and resources that will generate costs in order to successfully deliver a value proposition to a client segment
Part III: Viability
Focused on creating a solid financial model to ensure that the offering contributes towards an organization’s sustainability and increased social impact
a. Financial Model
Projecting the scenarios, costs and expected revenue streams of an offering
b. Prototype
Testing out a simplified version of the model in real-world experiments with potential customers
Part IV: Narrative
Focused on crafting the story and messaging structure about the idea that will be used to persuade key stakeholders such as board members, investors and donors
a. Narrative
Creating a compelling and persuasive story with inter-connected arguments and messages about the offering
b. Pitch presentation
Consolidating a strategically synthesized narrative and persuasive presentation for board buy-in, investors and/or donors
Part V: Plan to pilot
and Seed Investment
Focused on consolidating a well-structured plan for a small-scale pilot of the latest iteration of the offering and pitching to a panel for the opportunity to receive seed grant investment
a. Pilot Plan
Developing a comprehensive results-driven plan to implement the offering at a small-scale
b. Seed Investment
Pitching to a panel of Fòs Feminista team members and external investors to access seed grant funding to implement the pilot
Testimonials
“Without a doubt, for CEPAM-G, being part of the Incubator Program has been a pivotal moment. Down the road, we will be able to say that it was an institutional milestone. Transitioning from a social organization to think about ourselves as an enterprise has without a doubt led us to change our culture and our outlook. We know it’s possible to be a Social Enterprise that continues to offer services, accompaniment, and care for women and children victims of sexual violence, the families of victims of femicide, and women that need to access abortion when their life or health are at stake. We have learned to transition to become a Social Enterprise without losing sight of our mission.”
LITA MARTÍNEZ
Executive Director
CEPAM-G
“This incubation process has really made us reflect, it has made us mature much as an institution, and change the point of view and attitude. Being a Social Enterprise doesn’t mean I’ll stop being what I am. I have a mission-vision to sustain how people validate their rights, we work based on those rights with a strong focus on gender and generations. We empower the population so that they demand the fulfillment of their rights and also influence to generate new opportunities for development.”
ANA LABANDERA
Executive Director
Iniciativas Sanitarias
Recommended For
- Early-Stage
Organizations
- Organizations that have completed the Idea Exploration and Validation online course on the fosinnovation.org virtual platform
What You Receive
- Kick-off with a Social Enterprise Sprints and Workshops
- At least one in-person workshop facilitated by the Innovation and Social Enterprise Lab’s team (duration one week)
- Personalized bi-weekly virtual sessions with at least two facilitators that mentor, coach and accompany organizations throughout the entire incubation process
- Premium access to the fosinnovation.org virtual platform for exclusive contents and resources
- Other key materials used throughout the program (presentations, worksheets, resources, and contents
- Social Enterprise Incubator Program Toolkit
- Connections to seed funding grants to launch a pilot
Is your organization interested in learning more about any of these offerings? Please contact us for more details!