Cash will go to support social firms across the country
Scotland’s social enterprises are set for a £5m fillip from the Scottish Government to help social firms boost their presence.
The cash will be administered by the Just Enterprise consortium, led by CEIS and including the Social Enterprise Academy, Firstport, Impact Hub Inverness and CEMVO.
Just Enterprise will provide fully funded business support including start up specific advice, internationally recognised leadership development programmes, marketing strategies, income generation, tendering and procurement, financial systems, business planning and impact measurement in the form of tailored one to one consultancy and learning opportunities.
Hey Girls! received Just Enterprise support in 2018. Celia Hodson, chief executive, said: "Just Enterprise enabled us, as a new social enterprise with ambitious growth aspirations, to bid for and win a significant government contract that boosted our organisation’s turnover, credibility and profile. We simply wouldn’t have been in a position to bid for this without the Just Enterprise support.”
Scotland has around 6,000 social enterprises, the majority of which remain self-sufficient with many selling direct to the general public.
CEIS chief executive Gerry Higgins said: “As social enterprises ourselves we know the challenges for our clients in balancing income generation with social impact and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners across Scotland to deliver an innovative and effective programme of business support to the third sector.”
Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell added: “The social enterprise sector contributes over £2 billion to the economy every year and employs over 80,000 people so it is vital that they are able to access the support and advice they need to succeed.
“Social entrepreneurs are driven by a passion to improve their local communities and provide a service for the greater good.”
The full programme of support will launch in August, but interested organisations are urged to register their interest via www.justenterprise.org
