One year ago, I already introduced you to my firm conviction, doing business and doing good go hand in hand. The challenges we face now-a-days are endless and our ambition and vision to do better, be better to our planet and people is articulated everywhere. The ‘what’ is quite clear; we need to wake up, take action, create and leverage solutions that contribute to our sustainable development goals. It’s more about the ‘how’ where we struggle to find the right solution.

Well breaking news, there is not one solution. There is no right, there is no wrong – when the intent is there to do better, and to focus on realizing social impact. As humans we have something that distinguishes us from other creatures on this planet, and that the concept of ‘social learning’. We can learn from each other, build on each other’s ideas and become better when we leverage others.

Organizations that can do more, should do more – so here we are…

When we focus on doing things together, we can achieve great things and come up with sustainable solutions that make this world a better place for the next generations. This is my fundamental believe and that’s why I am writing this article to introduce to you our Microsoft Global Social Entrepreneurship Program.

Personally, I am looking to find our social entrepreneurs in the Netherlands and connect with them, support them on their journey and help them maximize the impact they can make on our planet and society.

So – I’ll tell you a bit about the program itself. The Microsoft Global Social Entrepreneurship Program is a network of global social entrepreneurs that we facilitate as Microsoft – a place where you can connect with entrepreneurs across the world on our challenges, technology, to learn from each other, and create body to face the world’s most critical challenges. Engineering experts are available to social entrepreneurs to help with App Consultations and other support questions. And last but not least we grant social entrepreneurs with access to Microsoft Technology, ranging from Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Visual Studio but also access rights to GitHub Enterprise.

How can you sign up? Quite easy: sign up here with your LinkedIn profile, indicate if your Startup is Social-Impact focused, and you’ll be a candidate for our Entrepreneurship for Positive Impact program… Easy as that!

Fun fact, within the program we have many mentors available across all roles within Microsoft, so if you need support, advice, coaching or just an answer to a question – 100s of mentors across the world with open calendars to support you!

For all questions regarding application and eligibility – check out this page..

Jooske de Groot, Director Small & Medium Business the Netherlands at Microsoft