Similarities Between Canada And New Zealand

New Zealand and Canada, although continents apart, share many similarities, including being colonies of the United Kingdom, and being strongly multicultural. Both nations have indigenous communities who face higher rates of adversity, and both countries have several official languages. Fortunately, both countries have developed significant interest and momentum in the area of social enterprise, in order to solve social issues. Although Canada, as a bigger country is significantly more developed in this area, the similarities between the countries would allow New Zealand to take lessons from their successes and mistakes.
Social enterprise momentum is increasing, with Canada being placed 1st in the world for momentum in the 2016 Reuters foundation
Other social enterprises use delivery or hospitality businesses as a method to allow employment for young people who are homeless or have faced some other challenge, and have been unable to find productive employment such as Buy Your Beau’s Online, and the North Shore Culinary Skills. The structure of the social enterprise vary greatly, from charities using enterprise as additional forms of revenue, to ‘buy one give one’ programs, cross subsidy modes, or businesses which incorporate their social good into their supply chain, through who they employ or the products they use. These forms of social enterprises are similar to other common forms of social enterprises commonly found in other nations and cultures. The majority of social enterprises in Canada operate internally, and as such are focused on issues within their own nation, rather than attempting to solve issues in other countries, especially developing nations. A particularly successful social enterprise is the Rise Asset Development in Ontario (Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment 2015), which works to provide start up loans and mentoring to entrepreneurs with a history of mental illness or addiction. A group which
Together, we can ensure that they have no better place to grow than here. By making social enterprises stronger, we make our communities stronger and we build a prosperous and fair Ontario for everyone.” This message illustrates the strong support that social enterprise has within government, and the dedication they have to improving it. Ontario has a dedicated Office for Social Enterprise within the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade, and Employment, which has worked with many stakeholders in developing ideas for future government interventions. The office also works to promote social enterprises as potential avenues for investments to potential investors, helping to raise knowledge and effectiveness of social enterprises (Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment