About Social Enterprise

What is Social Enterprise?

Social enterprises are businesses trading for a social or environmental purpose. There are an estimated 62,000 social enterprises in the UK, contributing over £24bn to the economy, employing approximately 800,000 people.

Social enterprises reinvest their profits to maximise their mission or reinvest back into the local communities they serve. Social enterprises are operating across a diverse range of industries and often led by inspirational leaders driven to create a business solution to the social problems they see.   

"A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners."
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) definition.