Social Enterprise

What is a Social Enterprise?

A Social Enterprise is a dynamic business which trades in the market wholly for a social purpose. Any profits therefore are re-invested within the organisation to further its aims and objectives.

Social Enterprises:

• Provide sustainable ways to improve and enhance local neighbourhoods
• They develop the skills and knowledge of local people
• Help excluded groups into the labour market
• They create not only wealth but also jobs
• Deliver value for money services in a wide range of sectors
• Promote and support active citizenship
• Provide an alternative business model

The social enterprise sector is diverse and includes co-operatives, development trusts, community enterprises, social firms, leisure trusts and many more.

Well known social enterprises include Cafedirect, The Big Issue, The Co-operative Group, Welsh Water (Glas Cymru), the Eden Preject and Jamie Oliver’s fifteen.

Social enterprises are important to the economy because they are about inclusion, community cohesion and sustainability.

The Government’s Annual Business Survey 2005 and existing data for the social enterprise sector has identified 55,000 social enterprises in UK with a combined turnover of £27 billion per year. Social enterprises account for 5% of all businesses with employees and contribute £8.4 billion per year to the UK economy, which is almost 1% of the annual GDP.

For further information about social enterprises, please contact The Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC) which is the national body for social enterprise by telephone 0207 793 2323 by email info@socialenterprise.org.uk or visit their website by following the external link below.