The Munich startup Social Bee describes itself as a social temporary employment agency. What does that mean? The company acts as a link between employers and refugees, offering low-skilled workers in particular a perspective in Germany.
What else makes Social Bee new, different, and special? We asked and talked to one of the founders, Maximilian Felsner.
1. Who are you and what do you do?
The two founders, Zarah Bruhn and I, have known each other since our first semesters in Mannheim and both wanted to contribute to improving the situation of refugees. To make this as professional and sustainable as possible, we chose a social entrepreneurial approach.
As the first social temporary employment agency, we serve as a link between employers and low-skilled refugees. In addition to a job, we offer our employees social-educational support, language courses, partial qualifications, and a leisure and cultural program.
Our goal is to place our employees in training or qualified permanent employment after 1.5 years at the latest. We want to promote integration in Germany. This sets us apart from traditional personnel service providers.
2. But that's been around for a long time!
Unfortunately not! Our approach to temporary social work is new. Our project is unique in both the temporary employment sector and refugee assistance. We're taking an unconventional approach by linking the world of social organizations with the business world, thus striving to leverage the different approaches and ways of thinking for the benefit of all.
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
Commitment with hand and heart, healthy pragmatism and trust in the potential of refugees.
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
Things are going very well. We've started operations and are making rapid progress. The feedback from all sides has been very positive. We realize we're doing the right thing.
The first major customer is already on board and we are constantly becoming more professional.
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Munich exemplifies Germany's welcoming culture. Images of the volunteers' and refugees' efforts at the main train station went around the world. It's wonderful to be able to continue this work from here and now address the long-term integration of refugees.
Of course, we are also happy about the infrastructure that Munich offers. The support from the LMU Entrepreneurship Centers has helped us a lot, the start-up scene is diverse and the social entrepreneurship scene in particular has developed strongly in recent years.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
We certainly won't become a unicorn. Our goal is to build a solid company as a reliable partner to help refugees and improve the overall social situation. For us as social entrepreneurs, social impact is paramount.
Currently, there are over one million refugees between the ages of 18 and 50 in Germany who have no verifiable qualifications. At the same time, there are 150,000 vacancies in the German labor market that could be filled by low-skilled workers—and the number is rising.
Nevertheless, despite their high motivation, 80% of all refugees are long-term unemployed. This is despite the fact that 85% of all employers want to work with refugees. It would be unforgivable if our society failed to address this challenge.
We want to make a long-term and lasting contribution to this – and we offer a good approach for this.
7. Helles or Prosecco?
Light, what else? 🙂
