Positives from latest annual report and accounts.
Responsible finance provider SIS Group has seen a return to “business-as-usual” as resilience funding decreased and demand for other funds reached near pre-pandemic levels, according to its latest annual report and accounts.
Investment activity by SIS Group, which comprises both Social Investment Scotland (SIS) and SIS Ventures, included £11.7m new loans approved and £16.1m of loans drawn during the past financial year.
The financial results reflect the Group’s strategic action plan of ‘Turning up the Volume’ post-pandemic.
The year also saw the launch of two new funds - the Community Sustainability Fund aimed at helping individuals and communities most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, and the Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund, targeting social enterprises in the North-East of Scotland and Moray.
SIS also continued to oversee, and fund manage the Scottish Investment Fund (on behalf of the Scottish Government), Asda Community Capital Fund, Third Sector Resilience Fund and the Affordable Credit Fund (on behalf of the Carnegie UK Trust and the Scottish Government).
Alastair Davis, CEO of SIS Group, said: “We are as determined as ever to deliver our mission to connect capital with communities, to make a real measurable and sustainable impact upon people’s lives.
“Social enterprises and community organisations are pivotal to so many in their communities.
“We see this daily and understand the importance we play in helping support this tremendous impact. However, many of our customers still face significant external challenges including, most pertinently, the cost-of-living crisis.
“Support from SIS and our partners remains absolutely vital to helping our customers not just survive but thrive and deliver more benefits to those who are most in need.”
SIS will be releasing its annual Impact Report later this month, highlighting the positive difference it has made to customers and communities across Scotland and the UK over the past year.
Ken Barclay, chair of SIS Group, said: “In line with our aim of ‘turning up the volume’, SIS has delivered a more rapid deployment of credit, substantially enhanced and additional market building programmes and a number of new funds for our customers.
“As the Scottish Government presses ahead with its vision of transitioning to a wellbeing economy, Scotland’s social enterprises are well placed to play a key role.
“However they can only do so if they continue to receive the investment, support and recognition required to deliver for their communities and for Scotland.”
