In the September issue of ETION, Nico Daenens shares his vision on social entrepreneurship. He talks about his search for work and how, as a young man, he experienced cleaning work being often underestimated. ‘I vividly remember waiting at the reception desk of a company for a job interview and how, by chance, a few prospective cleaners also came in to ask for information about a job. I can still picture the same receptionist who served me coffee and a biscuit handing the ladies a form in a totally disrespectful manner,’ he says.

He argues that cleaning should not be seen as a social safety net, but as a social springboard. ‘You have to undergo training in various techniques to treat different materials and surfaces correctly. We greatly underestimate this. It really pays to listen to them,’ says Nico Daenens.