Ecosystem mapping : Country factsheet
Germany 🇩🇪
Key facts
Population
Current population of Germany –
83,196,078
Data supplied by the World Bank
GDP
Current GDP of Germany –
4,259,934.91 ($ millions)
Data supplied by the World Bank
World Happiness Index
Germany currently ranks 7.034 out of 10.
Since 2002, the World Happiness Report has used statistical analysis to determine the world’s happiest countries. To determine the world’s happiest country, researchers analysed comprehensive Gallup polling data from 149 countries for the past three years, specifically monitoring performance in six particular categories: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make your own life choices, generosity of the general population, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels.

Read The European Social Enterprise Monitor Report, 2021 – 2022
The European Commission is proud to support this year’s European Social Enterprise Monitor (ESEM), the second edition covering the period 2021- 2022. This report builds on the seminal work of the first ESEM 2020-2021 and has impressively scaled from eight to 21 countries in just one year across the EU and the wider European neighbourhood. It provides key data and insights for policy-makers, investors, support organisations, academia and social entrepreneurs themselves.
Country factsheet: ESEM SEs in Germany
(Source: ESEM)
Perceived Political Support Grade
- 79.4% perceive national political support for social entrepreneurship to be low, very low or non-existent
Top 3 Business Sectors (UN ISIC)
- Education (24.8%)
- Information and communication (19.2%)
- Human health and social work activities (18.9%)
Company Size (OECD)
- Micro enterprises 74.9%
- Small enterprises 15.9%
- Medium enterprises 7.0%
- Large enterprises 1.4%
Top 3 UN SDGs
#4 – Quality education (51.8%)
#10 – Reduced inequalities (46.8%)
#3 – Good health and wellbeing (46.5%)
Impact Management & Measurement
- 61.9% currently measure their social/environmental impact; 34.8% plan to do so
- 37.7% refer to the UN SDGs in impact reporting; 26.5% plan to do so
Top 3 Beneficiaries (Persons)
- Children/young individuals in general (37.3%)/li>
- Women/girls (28.1%)
- Migrants (25.3%)
Top 3 Sources of External Financing
- Public financing (47.9%)
- Private donations (32.9%)
- Foundation funding (30.9%)
Funding Gap
On average, German ESEM SEs only managed to secure enough funding to meet 64.3% out of 100% of their financing needs in the past 12 months. Gap = 35.7%.
Top 3 Key Barriers
- Lack of options to finance the organisation once started (44.8%)
- Too complex public financing (43.7%)
- Lack of financial options when starting an organisation (43.5%)
Key Stakeholders & Members
EN Members
Social Enterprise Netzwerk Deutschland
Type of organisation: National Network for Social Enterprises/Entrepreneurs
Website – www.send-ev.de/
SEND is the German national network for social enterprises/social entrepreneurs. SEND is driven by the idea to live in a society in which all people benefit from the process. For this reason, they congregate all these actors into one network and give it a voice. SEND focus areas include:
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- Political education and intersectoral education
- Visibility and awareness raising
- Networking & communication
- Greening skills & digital transformation
- Impact orientation

Center for Social Investment, University of Heidelberg
Type of organisation: University/Research Centre
Website: www.csi.uni-heidelberg.de/index_e.htm
The Centre for Social Investment develops knowledge and understanding of private action for public benefit, in particular the types, roles and contributions of social investment, philanthropy, civil society, economic institutions in Europe and other parts of the world.

Yunus Social Business
Type of organisation: International Network, Impact Investor
Website: www.yunussb.com/
YSB works with both sides, and believes that social businesses and corporations have something to learn from each other. Social businesses have deep experience in harnessing business tools to tackle big challenges like poverty and the climate crisis. Global corporations have the power to multiply the impact of social businesses. YSB began working with corporations that were inspired to integrate social business into their business model – creating the first corporate social businesses

Other Stakeholders
Incubators/Accelerators
Coming soon
Funders
Coming soon
Universities/Research Centres
Coming soon
Key Policies
Key Legal and Policy Framework Overview
Introduction
Traditional associations (2600/2020)
Traditional associations were usually founded to practice ideal activities, but this legal form is now often used by its members for economic activities. They have, however, to split their books into an ideal and an entrepreneurial part. They have to work for the benefit of their members and have to fulfil a common benefit. A distinction can be made between ideological associations which hardly ever engage economically and common-benefit and philanthropic associations which are economically active. Most of them have a public benefit status.
Welfare organisations
Welfare organisations constitute the larges part of the German social economy. They often receive a large part of their budget from the state, which makes them “quasi-public service providers”. However, in the last years they introduced more and more economic activities and therefore are able to contribute their own share to the budget. They must spend all of their earnings to fulfil their social mission. For taxation purposes, they often create social enterprises, providing them with a beneficial status and a good environment.
Operational foundations (1483/1990)
Foundations are very common in Germany and most of them have a public-benefit status. They are mostly active in the fields of social services as well as education.
Cooperatives (2230/2006)
Cooperatives have been established to fight poverty and social exclusion of their members. Nowadays, most of them only follow commercial interests. They only are eligible as social cooperatives if they have a social mission.
WISE
There are two different forms of WISE in Germany. The first includes people with disabilities, which means they provide opportunities for people who cannot find a job on the “regular” job market. The second form caters to people with permanent labour market disadvantages. They have to spent all their earnings on their stated social goals.
Limited Liability Company Act (556/2013)
Tax Law (2878/2007)
Cooperative Act (2230/2006)
Financing and Support Measures
Key policy documents
Coming Soon
Funding Partners
Country Lead Grantees
Relevant Resources
Relevant Research Experts
News
Coming soon
Events
Coming soon
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Become a Member of SEND
With over 800 members, we are building on a better future. SEND is a network that strengthens social networks, networks and gives them a common voice. As a member of SEND, you will become part of it and can:
- Share and connect with like-minded people
- Generate visibility in and with the network for you impact
- Participate in political and financial frameworks for social entrepreneurship