Mobilizing a Network of Competencies to Fulfill the Purpose and Achieve Impact: The Portuguese Case of Mezze for the Integration of Refugees

The integration of refugees into the labor market is crucial for their economic independence and cultural adaptation, but they often face significant difficulties due to legal, cultural, and language barriers. This paper explores the Mezze project – a distinctive social entrepreneurship initiative in Portugal that operates as a restaurant aimed at integrating refugees and immigrants from the Middle East, particularly women and young adults. Despite the promoters’ lack of experience in the restaurant industry or working with refugees, Mezze has succeeded by leveraging a network of competencies to fill essential business skill gaps. Grounded in qualitative research, this study explores the importance of identifying key competencies and addressing competency gaps through a network of competencies to achieve purpose and impact. Mezze challenges the traditional notion that an entrepreneur must possess core business competencies. Instead, it demonstrates that social entrepreneurship can effectively address social problems through innovative, purpose-driven solutions and impact-alignment competencies, along with the crucial role of collaborative networks. This approach demonstrates that both social and financial sustainability can be achieved through business-oriented strategies, even when the promoters lack core business competencies. The key contribution of this article lies in showing that a committed social entrepreneur can prioritize purpose and impact by building a network of competencies across sectors. By focusing on desired outcomes, social entrepreneurs can explore innovative solutions and maximize the project’s impact, proving that having the “right set” of competencies is not essential for making a meaningful difference.