Zhang Qian

zhqcindy@163.com

AS China’s first certificate system for social enterprises, China Charity Fair (CCF) Social Enterprise Certification unveiled this year’s plans for the social enterprise certificate at the China Global Philanthropy Institute based in Futian District yesterday.

Comparing with countries and areas where social enterprise certificate systems have developed over decades, China is still in the initial stage of exploration, according to Dian Chunli, secretary general of China Charity Fair’s Development Center.

Dian explained that CCF Social Enterprise Certification is a system supported by the government and jointly operated by several civil organizations. This is the third time it has initiated the certificate system.

The secretary general said that the appearance of social enterprises could effectively help to innovatively solve social problems, therefore a certificate system to recognize these enterprises is crucial.

CCF Social Enterprise Certification came into being in 2015 when the third China Charity Fair took place in Shenzhen. A total of 221 institutions applied for the certification and 23 of them eventually acquired the certification.

This year, the certification system has undergone some adjustments to offer a more a detailed definition of “social enterprise” and an array of more specific requirements for such enterprises to become certified, said Xia Xuan, the founder of Star of Social Innovation, an organization that aims to promote social enterprises in Shenzhen.

“There are three key elements in the definition of a social enterprise, which is an enterprise or social organization that is founded on the basis of entrepreneurship and with the goal of innovatively solving social problems,” said Xia.

There are four general requirements an organization must meet to be certified as a social enterprise, said Xia. The standards include having been legally registered and independently operated for over a year with at least three full-time and paid employees, having clear goals to solve social problems, using innovative ways to solve social problems and lastly, having measurable ways to assess those efforts.

Applications for certification started yesterday.