The aim of the project is to provide support for the creation and development of social enterprises in order to improve the quality of life of society, increase employment opportunities for groups at risk of social exclusion, strengthen the sustainability of the ecosystem of social enterprises and promote the development of social entrepreneurship in general. Main project activities: - Social enterprises will be provided with advisory and financial support in the form of grants to help them start social entrepreneurship, develop and consolidate. A grant of up to EUR 40 000 with an aid intensity of 90% is intended for business start-ups (social enterprises employing groups at risk of social exclusion will also be able to receive this grant again – for the continuation of their activities). In turn, grants of up to EUR 200 000 with an aid intensity of 60% are intended for the development of existing enterprises (registered in the Register of Enterprises (hereinafter – the Register of Enterprises) at least two years ago), with the grant amount not exceeding 50% of the average turnover of the previous three years. In order to help social enterprises prepare a business plan for submission to the joint stock company ‘Development Finance Institution Altum’ (hereinafter ‘Altum’), they will be able to obtain advice. It is planned to achieve the following key indicators: support to micro, small or medium-sized enterprises, including cooperative enterprises, social enterprises, a total of 148 and 140 people at risk of social exclusion, of which 98 will be employed after the implementation of the business project. - Competitions for social entrepreneurship ideas will be organised for individuals starting social entrepreneurship. The successful tenderers will be able to submit a business plan for Altum, which, if approved, will lead to the formation of a limited liability company, indicating the social purpose in the articles of association and registering the company in the Register of Social Enterprises (‘the Register’). The newly established social enterprise of the social entrepreneurship start-up will receive a grant from Altum according to the previously approved business plan. - Measures to improve the system of social enterprises will continue, including improvements to the Register, the process of granting and monitoring the status of social enterprises. Improvements will be made in the light of the experience gained in the operation of the system and the approved amendments to the legal framework for social enterprises: The Law on social enterprises (‘the Law’), Cabinet Regulation No 173 of 27 March 2018 on groups at risk of social exclusion and the procedure for granting, registering and monitoring social enterprise status (‘Cabinet Regulation No 173’) and Cabinet Regulation No 818 of 19 December 2023 on implementing measure 4.3.3.3 ‘Support for social entrepreneurship’ of the specific support objective 4.3.3 ‘Improve access to employment and activation measures for all jobseekers, in particular young people, in particular through the implementation of the Youth Guarantee, the long-term unemployed and disadvantaged groups on the labour market and the economically inactive, as well as through self-employment and the social economy’ of the EU cohesion policy programme 2021-2027 (‘the SAM Cabinet Regulation’). The aim of the project will be not only to support the social enterprises themselves, but also to raise public awareness of the role of social entrepreneurship in increasing the quality of life in society. In this way, the social entrepreneurship ecosystem will be developed and strengthened, which will ensure not only an increase in the social impact of social enterprises themselves, but also the transfer of the role of these enterprises as creators of good practice to other enterprises, which, not being a social enterprise, will be able to address the objectives of the quality of life of society. - Past experience shows that the attendance, importance and achieved result of any event significantly improves as a result of well-prepared and targeted communication. To achieve these objectives, public awareness-raising activities are envisaged, as well as communication and visual identity requirements, which will be prepared and applied to the activities to be carried out within the framework of the project. The total eligible funding for the project is EUR 12 000 000, including EUR 10 200 000 from the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and EUR 1 800 000 from the national budget. Within the framework of the measure, the project shall be implemented from 01.10.2023, but not longer than 31 December 2029.