Sophi Tranchell MBE Joins Social Enterprise Leaders from Around the World at Social Enterprise World Forum 2015 in Milan

Sophi Tranchell MBE, Managing Director of Divine, the farmer-owned chocolate company, will be joining a host of social enterprise leaders to speak at the 8th Social Enterprise World Forum taking place in Milan from 1st-3rd July. Sophi will be joining panels looking at making food supply chains sustainable, and the role of investors in funding social business.

Sophi Tranchell says: "I was at the first SEWF in Edinburgh back in 2008 – and it's so impressive to see how far social enterprise has come since then. It's now a truly global phenomena and there are starting to be social enterprises, like Divine, that are growing into global businesses. We've gone through an extremely challenging and volatile period, which has impacted on all businesses, and come out stronger and even more convinced that co-operation and collaboration, rather than competition, is the way forward if we are to address the challenges ahead and create the world we'd like to live in."

She adds: "The Forum also gives a clear message about how big the social enterprise movement has become and the power that represents, and how it is the source of real innovation and energy in business today. I believe this has the potential to be an extremely influential event."

Divine Chocolate has won a series of business awards, including most recently Social Enterprise of the Year 2014 and the 2015 Guardian Sustainable Business Award for Social Impact Innovation. Over its 16 year history Divine has proven that a business where cocoa farmers own the biggest share of their own mainstream chocolate company works as a model of more equable and sustainable trade. The company recently merged its UK and US businesses – giving the farmers the largest share of a much bigger business – and establishing a stronger more resilient platform from which to grow as an international enterprise.

Bringing together best practice from different continents and a variety of sectors – from health, to agriculture, to mainstream fmcg, the Social Enterprise World Forum establishes the inroads social enterprise has made to date in the business and the development world, and is a hub for sharing and debating ideas for future progress. It also brings social enterprises together with policy makers to ensure this latest thinking is appreciated and considered by key Governments in the North and South.

Sophi Tranchell will be joining Tara McDonald of Vancouver Farmers Market, and Andrea Rapaccini of Make a Change (Italy) to discuss social value from food production and farming on 2nd July. On 3rd July she will join Prof. Mohammad Yunis to debate the role investor funding has in social enterprise.

ENDS

For further information please contact Charlotte Borger oncharlotte@divinechocolate.com

Editors' notes:

• Main topics at this year's SEWF are: Nurturing ecosystem, social enterprises against poverty, impact investment, and feeding the planet – with themes running throughout looking at youth in social enterprises, and communication challenges. For more detail about SEWF 2015 visit http://sewf2015.org/
• Divine Chocolate is the only Fairtrade chocolate company that is also co-owned by cocoa farmers. Kuapa Kokoo, a co-operative of over 80,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana, benefit not only from the Fairtrade premium on the sale of their beans, but also receive the largest share (44%) of Divine's distributable profits giving the farmers more economic stability, as well as the increased influence in the cocoa industry company-ownership brings
• Divine is a mission-driven business. Its mission is "To grow a successful global farmer-owned chocolate company using the amazing power of chocolate to delight and engage, and bring people together to create dignified trading relations, thereby empowering producers and consumers."
• The Fairtrade cocoa in Divine chocolate is fully traceable from bean to bar
• Divine is sold in UK, USA, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Czech Republic, South Korea, Japan and Australia
• Keep up to date with Divine UK online:

• Everything you need to know about Divine:www.divinechocolate.com/uk
• For trade enquiries visit: http://www.divinechocolate.com/uk/trade
• Follow Divine on Twitter: www.twitter.com/divinechocolate
• Follow Divine on Facebook: www.facebook.com/divinechocolate

• Keep up to date with Divine USA online:
  • Everything you need to know about Divine:www.divinechocolate.com/us
  • For wholesale enquiries visit:http://wholesale.divinechocolateusa.com/
  • Follow Divine on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DivineChocUSA
  • Follow Divine on Facebook:www.facebook.com/divinechocolateUSA

• All Divine products carry the Fairtrade Mark. This is an independent guarantee certified by Fairtrade International that the ingredients are sourced under internationally agreed fair trade terms and conditions. These include a guaranteed, secure minimum price, an extra social premium payment for the farmers to invest in their own community programmes, long term trading contracts, decent health and safety conditions – all aimed at empowering farmers to make their own improvements to living standards and prospects for the future. For more about Fairtrade visitwww.fairtradeamerica.org or www.fairtrade.org.uk