Solidarity and the Social Enterprises’ plan for 2026

On December 24, 2025, the second Social Enterprise Fair was held at the Social Enterprise Center in Skopje. This event, organized by the Ministry of Social Policy, Demography and Youth together with SIEC, MISLA, LJUBEZNOST, SOLEM and ARNO, was dedicated to solidarity for Marisija Sadovska and support for the Barka Foundation.

The event marked an important turning point for the sector. In 2027, the community is already preparing for the next phase of development. The panel discussion highlighted that in the last two years the ecosystem has grown significantly with new actors and branches.

ARNO, within the framework of this event, invites all attendees to register their interest in future cooperation by scanning QR codes. This database will be key to directing impact investments in the period 2026-2027, which is the heart of our work through the project “Investing in Change”. Additionally, informal educational activities related to the GREASE project (Green Rural Entrepreneurship in African Social Ecosystems) were also conducted. In a flash card game, questions were answered: what is social economy, what are cooperatives, what does composting mean, what skills do other women entrepreneurs need, etc. Each correct answer was rewarded with hot cocoa from Africa. One of the interesting answers was from Maria, a social entrepreneur from Bikilife, who considers: I consider myself a brave rural woman, who left the urban environment and was previously a rural woman in the true sense of the word. To show that all urban ladies can build their own business story with comments in society. Also, everyone can scan QR codes to access the manuals, and to create projects within the internal frameworks.

These stories and knowledge are proof that the ecosystem is ready for the next level. This close-knit community is the foundation on which we will build future impact investments in the local economy.

I called on all stakeholders to join the large coordination meeting in February 2026, organized by Public, which will be publicly announced. This is the moment when we will jointly check the feasibility of the current resources and plan the sustainable operation of the improved model for the local economy.