Social Franchise - Scale your impact | Take SPEAK to your city

Take SPEAK to your city.

Grow inclusive communities with SPEAK.

Help connect newcomers with locals in your city, breaking barriers, promoting multilingualism, equality and democratizing language learning.

SPEAK is a global network of individuals that participate in a program that connects migrants & refugees with locals through a language and culture exchange that combines language groups with cultural events - key to help new newcomers feel integrated in their new city.

After the positive results in Portugal we are now ready to grow internationally.
The timing couldn’t be more relevant given the current migrations momentum, which requires integrated and community-based solutions.

Now you have the opportunity to create your SPEAK!

If you are passionate about impact, diversity, languages, you are people-oriented and you feel confident that you can build and engage a thriving community of SPEAKers, we will help you make it happen!

“SPEAK is much more than just learning a language. The excuse of learning, an end in itself, is also a way to learn the plural and intercultural experiences, fundamental values in challenging times in Europe and in the world.”

Pedro Calado,
High Commissioner for Migration, Portugal

If you...

... care deeply about

+ promoting an understanding and acceptance of diversity;

+ democratizing language learning;

+ bringing people together.

... are willing to build a sustainable impact project

You are aligned with a double bottom-line approach that locks a venture’s financial success hand-in-hand with social impact.

...want to be part of something big!

You are ready to collaborate with SPEAK’s network to maximize the impact and economic sustainability of the project, individually, and across the world.

Join our global community!

24k

Members

163

Countries

Cities

First things first.

Location

Your city - let's increase probability of success

The city in which you want to start a SPEAK:
+ Diversity is a reality;
+ There are migration flows (migrants, expats, refugees and/or foreign students);
+ High population density and is a mid-to-large market size including mid-to-high GDP per capita;
+ Indicates potential for revenue generation and overall business sustainability.

Commitment

Are you ready for this?

It is hard work. Entrepreneurs sometimes ask themselves why they do what they do. The process of setting up SPEAK is intensive, and you need to be willing to commit between 2-5 years. It will be fun and meaningful but best parts of life come always with a little bit of struggle, right?

Partner

We can't do it without a partner

Partners are key for the success of SPEAK:
- They offer rooms for events and language groups;
- They communicate SPEAK to our audience.

(Examples: libraries, city halls, pubs, corporations, charities, universities, schools and many more.)

Is there partner interest in your city?

Team

2 are better than one and 3 are better than 2

You should have a team. You will need help and you will increase probability of success if your founding team has at least 2 persons, even if the second person is not fulltime.

Ready to put an extra pin on the map?

FAQ

What is this replication model of SPEAK?

What are the differences between social and commercial franchising?

What is important to know when opening a SPEAK?

There are things you will learn on the process of becoming a SPEAK city founder. But long story short these are key to know:

Location: Your city need to check the following: diversity is a reality; there are migration flows (and >= 6% of international citizens); is a mid-to-large market size including mid-to-high GDP per capita and mid-to-large population conditions; indicates potential for revenue generation and overall business sustainability;
Commitment: Make sure you are ready for this. It is hard work. Entrepreneurs sometimes ask why they do what they do. The process of setting up a SPEAK is intensive, and you need to be willing to commit between 2-5 years. It will be fun and meaningful but best parts of life come always with a little bit of struggle, right?
Partners: Find partners early on. We have two types of partners: 1) Space partners - offer space for events and language groups; and 2) Communication partners - communicate SPEAK to a specific audience. They are both key for the success of your SPEAK. Example of current partners: libraries, city halls, pubs, corporations, charities, universities, schools and much more.
Team: You should have a team. You will need help and you will increase probability of success if your founding team has at least 2 persons. Yes you can start alone but experience shows it is painful.If you are 2 or 3 it is mandatory that everyone commits fulltime.
Funding: The goal is that each SPEAK becomes financially sustainable as an independent venture. But to commit fulltime in the beginning you will need funding. The funding strategy varies from grants, loans, crowdfunding, equity, to friends and family.
Legal Structure: It is better that you establish a social enterprise (if applicable in your country) or NGO and that your founding team is in full control of your SPEAK. Having said that, there are other ways to start.

What are the revenue streams for most of the SPEAKs?

We need to constantly innovate to provide the best experience for our community and at the same time be financially sustainable. These are the revenue streams you will see across different SPEAKs:

Sponsorships / Advertising.
A typical B2C revenue stream from applications from participants in your city. You have access though SPEAK technology to data about applications and revenue in real-time;
A B2B revenue stream that consists in selling packs of applications to different organizations;
Donations by individuals or organizations (private companies, foundations);
Awards;

How does SPEAK support me throughout the onboarding process?

During the onboarding process, your team will participate in an 8-hour training program that covers all the areas of running SPEAK, plus access to materials that detail all our internal procedures and to the platforms that we use to get in touch with our community and manage our backoffice. In addition to that, your team will have regular calls with our team to assist you with any questions you might have, during and after the onboarding process.

How long does it take to open SPEAK in my city?

I have other questions. Can I contact you?

By promoting multilingualism in this innovative, informal and democratic way, SPEAK is having an impact on intercultural understanding, cohesion, employment prospects and competitiveness.

In Uniarea, Feb 2017

Being a founder of SPEAK has been a remarkable experience. It gets me inspired as I truly believe everyone should feel at home in the city where they live. I've met so many people from all around the world, celebrating different cultures and breaking bread together. I am grateful to find this tribe.

Khuloud Kaltum

SPEAK Founder @ Braga

SPEAK is much more than just learning a language. The excuse of learning, an end in itself, is also a way to learn the plural and intercultural experiences, fundamental values in challenging times in Europe and in the world.

For those of us who believe that it is possible to harmonise human rights with mobility, with a good management of the flows and the support of the integration of migrants, SPEAK is part of the ingredients that cement hyperdiverse societies in the 21st century.

Pedro Calado

High Commissioner for Migrations, Portugal

We believe proven social impact solutions must operate at a much greater scale to achieve significant transformational change. We also know that social change makers and innovators will have more meaningful impact by building on what already works, rather than constantly reinventing the wheel.

Spring Impact, 2018

There are many reasons for why I decided to bring SPEAK to my city. SPEAK changed my life, I made many new friends who helped me feel at home here. I want to help change the life of many people. I'm proud to be part of this global community that proves that differences are not a reason for division.

Valéria Meneses

SPEAK Founder @ Aveiro