People’s Supermarket founder to inspire new social entrepreneurs

Press release issued: 16 November 2011

How can you make the world a better place through business? This is just one of the questions being addressed at Bristol’s first Social Enterprise Conference, which will feature the founder of The People’s Supermarket and other inspirational speakers.

Chef Arthur Potts-Dawson’s concept of The People’s Supermarket, a scheme run by the shoppers that provides good-quality food at affordable prices, has become hugely popular thanks to a Channel 4 series.

He will share the secrets of his success in a bid to inspire the social entrepreneurs of the future at the forum on Saturday [19 November], which has been organised by students at Bristol University.

Also sharing their wisdom will be Tridos ethical bank, international education charity Teach a Man to Fish, volunteer agency 2Way Development and not-for-profit company Enabling Enterprise, which equips young people with the skills they need to succeed in life.

The aim of the conference is to discuss how to establish a social enterprise, which is a business trading for social and environmental purposes to make the world a better place. There are 62,000 of them in the UK, contributing over £24billion to the economy and employing approximately 800,000 people.

Good examples are the Big Issue, the Eden Project, John Lewis, Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen and the fair-trade chocolate company Divine Chocolate.

Dave Jarman, RED’s Enterprise Skills and Education Manager, said: “Social enterprise is something the University of Bristol and its students and staff have been doing almost since day one of the institution’s existence – but we haven’t always used that terminology. I’m really pleased that the students have led on this event and hopefully it’ll be part of the landscape for years to come.”

The conference will address the issues of new models of money, rethinking our food systems and climate change while showcasing innovative ideas and trends within social enterprise to encourage better solutions to the world’s problems.

It takes place from 9.30am to 5pm in the Merchant Venturers Building, Woodland Road. Tickets are £15 for academics/professionals and £6 for students/alumni. To find out more and book your tickets, please visit: www.bseconference.org

The Social Enterprise Conference has been organised by Bristol Hub, Bristol Social Enterprise Society and Research Enterprise Development (RED) at Bristol University.

It coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week, which included an Entrepreneurs Question Time featuring four University of Bristol alumni who shared their experiences of starting their own businesses.

Further information

Confirmed speakers for the Social Enterprise Conference include:

Arthur Potts-Dawson, founder of The People’s Supermarket
Noam Kostucki, founder and managing director of Seeducation
Kelvin Cheung, Chief Executive and founder of FoodCycle
Erica Bertolotto, Programmes and Business Development Manager at Teach a Man to Fish
Tom Owen, Business Development Manager at Triodos
Katherine Tubb, Founder and Director of 2Way Development
Tom Ravenscroft, Director of Enabling Enterprise
Andre Campbell, Founder and Director of Enfuse Youth