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

Take SPEAK to your city.

Make your city a place where everyone feels at home and where diversity is championed.

Start your own SPEAK chapter.

At SPEAK we bring together newcomers and locals living in the same city through community-led language groups and cultural exchange events. If you are passionate about diversity and committed to making your city more inclusive, you can start your own SPEAK chapter. This is the beginning of your journey towards impact and we are here to support you every step of the way!

How SPEAK chapters work.

Build a network of local partners.

Partner with local organizations that share our passion for diversity and can help you organize activities for the community.

Get the community together.

Build a community of diverse people who want to get together through language groups and cultural exchange events.

Create impact.

Make a difference by championing diversity and helping community members break the main barriers behind social isolation.

Ready to take SPEAK to your city?

Become a SPEAK founder and connect newcomers and locals living in your city.

再见

Hi!

Danke!

Join a global community.

45k

SPEAKers sharing their culture.

198

Countries represented.

Languages shared.

SPEAK chapters

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

Ciao!

Lagos is a city with an incredible mixture of people from many cultures. My goal is to reduce the gap created in communication between migrants, locals and refugees in Lagos. I want to create a bridge where everyone can learn a language and communicate with others reducing the inter-tribal conflicts.

Ezekiel Inyang

SPEAK Founder @ Lagos

Ciao!

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

Ciao!

Your questions answered.

What is SPEAK’s replication model?

What is the difference between social and commercial franchising?

Is my city the right one to start a SPEAK chapter?

What is important to know when starting a SPEAK chapter?

Long story short, these are the key things to know:

Commitment: The process of starting a SPEAK chapter is rewarding but also intensive and challenging -- while we will support you every step of the way, you and your team will need to commit at least 20 hours per week to your SPEAK chapter.
Team: While you can start a SPEAK chapter by yourself, we highly recommend that you start with at least another person (the ideal team will have between 2 and 4 people).
Legal structure: While it is not required during the early stages of your SPEAK chapter, you will eventually need to set up a social enterprise (if applicable in your country) or an NGO to manage your SPEAK chapter.
Funding: The goal is for SPEAK chapters to become financially sustainable as independent ventures, but if you want to commit fulltime as a SPEAK founder you will need initial funding to get started (we can help you map a fundraising strategy, that can include a mix of grants, loans, crowdfunding and/or equity).

Can SPEAK chapters be financially sustainable?

SPEAK is an impact venture that combines the goals of having a positive impact on society with financial sustainability. As a SPEAK founder, you will have the opportunity to explore different revenue streams:

Revenue from applications to language groups in your city -- you can explore this revenue stream as soon as you open the first language groups, and it will increase over time.
Revenue from application packs sold to companies -- you can explore this revenue stream once you have a solid community in your SPEAK chapter.

Besides these ongoing revenue streams, you can also explore fundraising options, such as crowdfunding (to help you kick start your SPEAK chapter), grants and impact investment or prize money from social innovation competitions and awards.

What support will I get from SPEAK?

During your first weeks as a SPEAK founder, you will take part in an onboarding training consisting in a combination of videos, documents and tools to help you master all the information you need to manage your SPEAK chapter. You will also have a dedicated point of contact who will meet with you to make sure you have everything you need to be successful, as well as access to SPEAK’s management platform where you will see the activity in your SPEAK chapter in real time, as well access to tools to create and manage your language groups and cultural exchange events.

How long does it take to start a SPEAK chapter?

How can I apply to start a SPEAK chapter?

Do you want to know more about social franchising?

Check our open course, done in partnership with CATÓLICA-LISBON, to better understand how the social franchising model can be a solution to scale impact.

Got questions?

Don't worry, we’re here for you! If you need help or have additional questions you can reach us at hma@speak.social.