Soziale Unternehmen

What Soziale Unternehmen does

Soziale Ökonomie (soziale-oekonomie.de) is a Berlin-based information portal and ecosystem hub for the German social economy sector, operated by Technologie-Netzwerk Berlin e.V. (TechNet), a registered non-profit association (e.V.) founded in 1993. The organization was among the first actors to introduce the concepts of Social Economy and social enterprises to Germany in the mid-1990s via European networking and has spent more than 30 years building domain authority in the field.

The platform serves four primary user groups — founders interested in social enterprise, existing social enterprises, NGOs seeking to add economic activity, and public institutions — providing tailored guidance content, downloadable methodological toolkits (Social Auditing, Planning for Real, Social Management Framework, Social Marketing), and structured workshop and consulting programs. Core topics covered include cooperative legal forms, financing for social enterprises, remuneration systems, social auditing, and impact measurement. The technology is a standard content/website platform with self-service resource access and event registration, supplemented by in-person and online workshop delivery in Berlin.

Commercially, TechNet operates as a grant-funded non-profit. Revenue mechanics rest on three streams: project funding (notably the ESSE program from BMWK and the EU under REACT-EU), association membership of the underlying registered association, and fee-based consulting and workshop services. The organization co-leads the Social Economy Berlin (SEB) platform with SEND e.V. and the Berlin Senate, sits in international research networks (CIRIEC, EMES, RIPESS, REVES), and operates from a single headquarters at Wiesenstraße 29, 13357 Berlin, with a team of approximately 35 (firmographics figure) — of which a 6-person core team is noted as the specialist backbone.

Name

Soziale Unternehmen

Legal name

Technologie-Netzwerk Berlin e.V.

Website

https://soziale-oekonomie.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Soziale Ökonomie is a Berlin-based non-profit information portal and ecosystem hub operated by Technologie-Netzwerk Berlin e.V., delivering workshops, toolkits, and consulting for social enterprise founders, NGOs, and public institutions across Germany's social economy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Project Funding: Funded through government projects including the ESSE project, supported by BMWK (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection) and financed by the European Union as part of the EU response to COVID-19 (REACT-EU)
2. Association Membership: Operated by Technologie-Netzwerk Berlin e.V., a registered association, likely with membership fees supporting operations
3. Consulting and Workshop Services: Offers tailored consulting services, workshops, and seminars on social economy topics delivered in individual formats

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Soziale Unternehmen (operated as Soziale Ökonomie) runs an information portal at soziale-oekonomie.de and delivers workshops, seminars, and consulting services for the German Social Economy sector. The platform provides guidance, planning tools, and methodologies (such as Social Auditing and Planning for Real) to social enterprises, NGOs, public institutions, and individuals interested in founding social businesses. It also serves as a hub for the Berlin-based social economy ecosystem, co-leading the Social Economy Berlin (SEB) platform together with SEND e.V. and the Berlin Senate.

Product overview

Soziale Oekonomie (soziale-oekonomie.de) is an informational guidance portal operated by Technologie-Netzwerk Berlin e.V. dedicated to the Social Economy sector. The platform provides information, tools, and consulting services for social enterprises, NGOs, public institutions, and people interested in founding social businesses. Services include workshops and seminars on topics such as social enterprise planning, social auditing, social management, social marketing, and effect measurement. The site also serves as a hub for the Social Economy Berlin ecosystem, offering access to research documents, planning tools (Planning for Real), and networking opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Social Economy Information Portal (soziale-oekonomie.de)
• Workshops and Seminars Program
• Consulting and Advisory Services
• Social Economy Berlin (SEB) Ecosystem Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 30 years of experience in social economy concepts and practices in Germany
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, moderate and minor.

• Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland e.V. (SEND)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Joint leadership of Social Economy Berlin (SEB) platform. SEB provides a platform for the social and solidarity economy ecosystem in Berlin including consulting with various focuses, networking opportunities, and sensitization of potential funders, politics, and science for the needs of social enterprises.
• Social Economy Berlin (SEB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Platform co-led by TechNet and SEND e.V., supported by Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe. Offers ecosystem consultation, networking, and awareness building for social and solidarity economy in Berlin.
• Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe (Berlin Senate)flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2007Supports the Social Economy Berlin platform and commissioned TechNet to conduct inventory and potential analysis of social economy in East Berlin. Supports ecosystem development for social enterprises.
• CIRIEC (Research Institute for Public and Cooperative Economy)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research network for public and cooperative economy. TechNet has created national studies on Social Economy/Social Enterprises for CIRIEC and other European networks.
• EMES (European Social Economy Network)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean network of Social Economy. TechNet contributed research work to EMES and participates in their activities.
• RIPESS (Intercontinental Network for Promotion of Social Solidarity Economy)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntercontinental network promoting social solidarity economy. TechNet contributed studies to RIPESS.
• REVES (Network of Cities and Regions for Social Economy)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean network connecting cities and regions working on social economy topics.
• Unlearn Business LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for workshop on social justice in remuneration systems. Unlearn developed and tested a privilege-based remuneration system, presented in joint workshop format.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bertelsmann Stiftung: A large German foundation running programs on social innovation, civil society, and the social market economy — overlapping with TechNet's policy and ecosystem-development work at a much broader scale and longer resourcing base.
• Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship: A sister foundation of the World Economic Forum, the Schwab Foundation operates a global network of leading social entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners, overlapping with TechNet's international network partnerships (EMES, CIRIEC, REVES) and its ecosystem-convening role.
• Ashoka Germany: Ashoka is the global leader in social entrepreneurship support, with a large German operation that runs fellowship, convening, and partner programs for social entrepreneurs — a broader incumbent in the same 'social enterprise support' category TechNet serves in Germany.

Direct peers

• Euclid Network: Euclid Network is a European membership organization supporting social enterprise and social-economy intermediaries across Europe — directly comparable to TechNet's role as the German social-economy hub and partner in networks like EMES and REVES.
• Impact Hub Germany: Impact Hub operates a network of coworking spaces and accelerator/incubator programs targeted at impact-driven entrepreneurs in Germany and globally, serving the same 'founders of social enterprises' persona that TechNet targets with its portal and workshops.
• Social Entrepreneurship Netzwerk Deutschland e.V. (SEND): SEND is TechNet's direct partner in jointly leading the Social Economy Berlin (SEB) platform. It is a German nonprofit association representing social entrepreneurs nationwide, with overlapping target segments (founders, NGOs, social enterprises) and similar advocacy and convening functions.
• Phineo gGmbH: Phineo is a German nonprofit analytics and consulting organization supporting social-impact organizations with impact analysis, donor advisory, and capacity-building — overlapping with TechNet's social-economy capacity-building and impact-measurement toolkits.

Regional players

• Social Enterprise UK: Social Enterprise UK is the UK's national body for social enterprises, providing advocacy, training, and a national social-economy membership platform — analogous in role and structure to TechNet but serving the United Kingdom rather than Germany.
• Social Economy Europe (SEE): SEE is the EU-level umbrella for social-economy federations and cooperatives across Europe, comparable to TechNet in policy advocacy and convening, but operating at the European institutional level rather than as a single-country hub.

Others

• CIRIEC (Research Institute for Public and Cooperative Economy): CIRIEC is an international research network on the social and cooperative economy for which TechNet has produced national studies on the German Social Economy — a research counterpart and partner rather than a direct competitor, but operating in the same knowledge ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/soziale-unternehmen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Soziale Unternehmen