Some 60 attendants spent the day exploring this in two main sessions. In the morning a more traditional lecturing format, we heard from Mme Chillon from the Department for Solidarity Economy at the Ministry of Economy, Mme Georges and M. Schmit from Caritas sharing data and real life stories they meet in their work with people in poverty or the risk zone of poverty her in Luxembourg (see the graph below for the details on numbers around poverty in Luxembourg).

The afternoon session set things in motion and changed tempo drastically. First all participants received a crash course in the  Business Model Canvas from Sophie Raquez from The Idea Monopoly. This was then used as the framework to pick up the ideas that had been submitted throughout the morning by participants. A quick vote and prioritisation produced seven poverty problems or challenges, that the self-organised groups attacked and tried to find a solution to. It was intense and tough work since it’s not that many who have the experience from looking at entrepreneurial and self-sustainable solutions to solve poverty problems.

Overall the groups did well above their own expectations. The final pitches done by the groups using the the Business Model Canvas as the framework were very inspiring. During this segment there were also some external visitors. Some came as coaches to do speed coaching for the teams participating in the 123GO Social business plan competition which was the last thing that took place before a well deserved evening snack and drinks.