After London, Manchester and New York, the free service connecting social entrepreneurs with successful business leaders comes to the West Midlands.
The Human Lending Library®, which matches social entrepreneurs with recognised and successful entrepreneurs as mentors, has opened in Birmingham.
The programme was created Expert Impact, a charity which matches social entrepreneurs with successful business founders for free advice and mentoring.
Kendra Walsh, director of Expert Impact, said: “After providing the model works in London, Manchester and New York, we are delighted we can expand the react of the Human Lending Library by making it more accessible to organisations creating creating positive social and environmental impact in the West Midlands.”
The Birmingham branch of the Human Lending Library will be run by iSE, a social enterprise development organisation supporting the growth of social businesses across the West Midlands.
Founders or CEOs of social enterprises and charities can “borrow” one of more than 40 business experts, for free, to seek advice on business or organisational challenges.
Experts include the founders of Pret-A-Manger, a Carphone Warehouse, john Frieda, Mumsnet and many other leading companies.
More than 200 charity and social enterprise leaders have used the service to date including Change Please, a coffee company that trains and employs homeless people as baristas; Harry Specters, a company staffed by people with autism; and OLIO, an app connecting neighbours to combat food waste.
By working with the dedicated team at iSE, Expert Impact hopes that the innovative scheme can support mo re social enterprises and facilitate rapid beneficial change.
Sarah Crawley, CEO of iSE said “We are thrilled to work with Expert Impact to support the roll-out of their Human Lending Library. Access to high profile experts, many of which are household names, will provide the sector with a unique resource to help them overcome challenges and achieve growth.”
At the time of writing, the UK is under lockdown due to COVID-19 and Human Lending Library meetings are happening virtually.
Social entrepreneurs can apply to the Human Lending Library here.
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