If you Google social enterprise development in Hungary you get singular references to the CEE Trust and the Euclid Network but almost all the content comes from NESsT, which began its work with nascent social enterprises in Hungary almost 15 years ago. It was therefore no surprise that the first Social Enterprise Day, held in Budapest on 3 June, was organized by NESsT and was a showcase for NESsT and its portfolio’s work in addressing critical social issues.

The Day was actually the culmination of three days of events: a private day among NESsT and its portfolio organizations; the Social Enterprise Marketplace at the Hungarian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association conference and the NESsT-Citi awards for social enterprise performance; and the Social Enterprise Day. The latter was attended by some 120 social enterprises, community organizations, charities, one or two bankers and funders and government officials. A similar event was held contemporaneously in Santiago, Chile but an opportunity was missed to link the two and to appreciate the global reach of social enterprise.