How will our agents find partners and sponsors to support their social enterprises? And for the ones that have successfully done so in the past, how can they move on to bigger, more significant partnerships? Generally speaking, big or small, the same principles apply:

They’ll need to reach out to potential supporters who share their values and goals.

Research is key. What kinds of individuals, foundations, corporations, or government agencies are likely to support the agents’ particular enterprises based on their current interests, motivations and requirements? Our agents must ensure that they adapt their outreach to the different groups accordingly.

The agents must be specific and realistic about what they ask for – whether money, coverage or in-kind donations. How much do they need exactly? Why that much at this point in time? Why have they reached out to this particular individual or organisation?

And how can our agents frame their offers for partnership or sponsorship to show that their potential collaborators will also benefit? Is their enterprise area of focus a trending topic in the news perhaps? Or maybe their business is taking off among young people and so aligning with them will score their collaborators points with the youth market they have been looking to break into.

Lastly, given the stages our agents’ businesses are in, should they be looking for partners or sponsors, or both? Let’s see what this week’s experts have to say.