Thank you to our Associate Partner ENSIE (European Network of Social Integration Enterprises) for sending us this information. (See associate partners of the Erasmus Mundus social economy project here)
The Business for Peace Foundation, Oslo, has awarded an Honour to a Danish social entrepreneur. Telehandelshuset is a social firm, functioning both as telemarketing bureau and as a telemarketing education unit. The telemarketing consultants of Telehandelshuset, of which most are blind or visually impaired, work as role models and coaches to the students in the daily training.
The Business for Peace Foundation report that Ms. Connie Hasemann, Denmark, founder and CEO of Telehandelshuset AS. Hasemann is a strong advocate for social change through sustainable business. With a mission to help disabled people show they are a valuable labour resource on equal standing with others, Hasemann established what is now one of the leading social enterprises in Denmark. Her drive and dedication break down barriers, and are appreciated across national borders. Connie Hasemann has developed a business model that demonstrates a new concept of comprehensive rehabilitation of disabled people, where the outcome is employment. This business model is both scalable and adaptable across sectors and national borders.
Congratulations to Connie Hasemann!
See this year’s other awards here. They include Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Company: more than 25 years on development issues in indigenous communities, including coffee-producing villages around the world. The enterprise shows that businesses can promote positive economic, social and environmental change in developing countries, and be profitable at the same time.