The project proposer is expected to demonstrate his/her entrepreneurship spirit and previous entrepreneurial experience.
Aside from a financial grant of €15,000, the winning social entrepreneurs also receive personnal and business sponsoring and guidance from a Kering Group staff member. Kering corporate sponsors contribute their business and marketing expertise, share their insight on market analysis and positioning, and provide the social entrepreneur with open access to their business network in order to facilitate the implementation of his/her project.

A MENTORING TO OPEN NEW PERSPECTIVES

On 21 June  2012, François-Henri Pinault, CEO of the Kering Group and Chairman of the Kering Foundation, awarded three social entrepreneurs chosen by the Kering Foundation's Selection Committee:

• Sophia Klumpp & Paul Grinvalds, for their social enterprise AFRIPads, encouraging the educationnal and vocational integration of girls in Uganda by producing washable sanitary pads. This project is mentored by Silvia Massa, a manager of Bottega Veneta, on communications and human resources strategies.
• Delphine Kohler, for her organisation Filles du Facteur, supporting the empowerment of Burkinabian women through the production of crocheted accessories made from recycled plastic bags. This project will benefit from the guidance of Karine Saint Martin,a manager of Kering, on brand positioning and distribution strategy.
• Miriam Espinoza & Patricia Marihuen, for the association Relmu Witral, preserving the traditionnal skills of the Mapuche women weavers in Chile. This project is supported by Jeff Roberts, a manager of Volcom, who will provide help and guidance with the redefinition of the product offering and the marketing strategy.

On 9 June 2010, the three awards-winners were:

• Sakina M'Sa for her work- and beauty-based integration workshop. Her project was sponsored by a Human Resources manager of Yves Saint-Laurent.
• Anne Roos-Weil for the association Pesinet fighting against infant mortality in Mali. This iniciative was supported by a manager of PPR Strategy Department.
• Maria Teresa Leal for COOPA-ROCA, a women's cooperative in a Rio's favela in Brazil. This project was mentored by a marketing maganer of FNAC Brazil.

Discover the details on their projects through the project explorer.

Launched in 2008, the Social Entrepreneurs Awards already awarded Jean-Pierre Clair (for AIL 46), Rachel Liu and Antoinette Giorgi (for Ideo), Olivier Desurmont (for Sineo) and Thomas Granier and Séri Youlou (for La Voûte nubienne/AVN). The four winners have been provided business guidance from a PPR senior executive for an entire year.

In June 2009, the Foundation extended its partnership with La Voûte nubienne with an expertise transfer project developed jointly with PPR UniverCité. Six PPR high potential executives were invited to work on an audit for La Voûte nubienne (AVN). Their assignment started in Paris on the occasion of a first meeting with the Management Team. It continued in Boromo, Burkina Faso, where they met with Burkinabe masons trained by AVN, clients and local staff, providing them with the opportunity to better assess all the impacts of this project. Backed by this unforgettable human experience, the PPR executives finalised the audit intended to help La Voûte nubienne duplicate its model.