10,000 teenagers are being challenged to turn a £10 loan into a social enterprise. In essence, whoever takes the loan has a month to invest it. Prizes are awarded to the top 50 profit makers and, crucially, prizes are also awarded to the 50 judged to have made the most (presumably positive) social impact.
The 'Make Your Mark With A Tenner' (MYMWAT) scheme is funded by a "marketing guru" (according to the BBC), Andrew Reynolds, who said he had donated the money so that youngsters had a chance to show they were "not all a bunch of violent hoodies".
It fits in nicely with the government's Social Enterprise Action Plan published last week, which is designed to promote businesses with a conscience. Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, which seeks to give opportunities to the socially disadvantaged, The Big Issue and The Eden Project are held up as a shining examples of the social enterprise sector.
Even without the government's promptings, the ethical investor survey results show that it can make financial, as well as ethical, sense to get into the social enterprise business.
From: BEST OF 2008: Eco-friendy and sustainable shoes