Five European regions come together for the RaiSE project kick-off, aimed at increasing competitiveness of social enterprises

In 2014, the Government of Catalonia launched the first specific strategy to promote the internationalization of the social third sector and the social and cooperative economy organizations, putting the 36 Trade and Investment Offices at their disposal to identify worldwide opportunities, promote international procurement processes and identify European funding mechanisms. The aim is to support these social enterprises in their processes of internationalisation, allowing them to strengthen their business activities to achieve their social objectives.

The programme—which has organised, for example, trade missions of Catalan social enterprises to Colombia, Chile and Brussels—was recognised as best public sector practises in 2015 in the EPSA Awards of the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) in Maastricht.