IBLF participating in 2nd Social Business Forum

Head of the Branch Office IBLF in Russia Boris Tkachenko spoke at the Second Social Business Forum held on October 23, 2012, on the premises of the RF Ministry of Economic Development in Moscow. The attendees were interested in the IBLF Russian Branch experience of building up cross-sector partnership.

Being organized by the Russian Microfinance Centre and supported by the RF Ministry of Economic Development, the Forum has traditionally gathered major representatives of socially oriented business, federal and regional authorities as well as various organizations providing assistance to entrepreneurs. The Forum was opened by Director of the Russian Microfinance Centre Mikhail Mamuta.

The key note speech was made by the world famous entrepreneur Alexander Balfour, founder of Divine Chocolate Ltd, a major chocolate producer in the US and British markets. The company was voted Best Social Enterprise in 2007 thanks to its unique fair trade system where the farmers growing cocoa own 45% of the company equity and share in its profits.

Boris Tkachenko’s presentation at the Plenary Meeting was devoted to cross-sector partnership as a key to successful establishment of an efficient system to support social entrepreneurship. This topic was later expanded and elaborated at the working sessions following the plenary meeting. The sessions were attended, among others, by Director of Department for SME Development of the Ministry of Economic Development Natalia Larionova, First Executive Vice-President the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Murychev, the RF State Duma representative Anatoly Aksakov and other public figures known for their involvement in the social business agenda.

IBLF was an official partner of the Forum. The IBLF representatives Boris Tkachenko, Elena Trakhtenberg and Victor Glushkov participated in three sessions, telling the attendees about the unique methods employed by the Branch Office IBLF in Russia and the corresponding experience of the Youth Business Russia Programme development.