On Thursday 7th February, 2013, The Duke of York visited the Fire Station, PwC’s social enterprise hub based at More London.
The Duke first met apprentice chefs and staff in Brigade – a social enterprise bistro and bar. Together with the Beyond Food Foundation, Brigade offers vulnerable people catering apprenticeships, giving them the opportunity for a brighter future.
HRH then had the opportunity to join a round-table discussion at the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE). The SSE offers practical learning for social entrepreneurs to start up and grow their organisations and, to date, over 1,000 alumni have completed SSE programmes around the country. The Duke also met some PwC mentors and the social enterprises that they support. Rosie Ginday who founded Miss Macaroon and Bilal Dunn from the Noor Initiative were on hand to explain to HRH how PwC mentors have supported their businesses and the good causes they support.
The Duke then met the team in the PwC Centre for Social Impact Measurement, who’ve trained over 100 volunteers in social impact measurement (SIM) – a valuable tool in measuring business in more than just financial terms.
To conclude the visit, HRH attended a working lunch prepared by the apprentice chefs in Brigade and hosted by Ian Powell, PwC Chairman and Senior Partner. The Duke was joined at the lunch by some leading players in the Fire Station initiative and social enterprise sector for a discussion on how business can support social enterprise.
