Time is right to back social enterprises (From Evesham Journal)

Time is right to back social enterprises

12:30pm Sunday 7th February 2010

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THE growth of social enterprise could lead to a jobs boom in Worcestershire, it has been claimed Kevin Maton, network director for Social Enterprise West Midlands, made the prediction during the launch of The Time is Now – the new vision and prospectus for the sector which calls for greater understanding, innovation and support.

Backed by Advantage West Midlands, the prospectus aims to galvanise everyone who operates in this arena – from the social entrepreneurs who make it happen to the consumer who benefits, investors that lend, the public sector that procures services and business support agencies that are there to facilitate growth.

It comes on the back of latest statistics showing that there are currently more than 157,000 people employed in 5,500 social enterprises in the West Midlands, generating more than £5.7 billion in the process.

Mr Maton said: “We truly want social enterprise to become part of everyday life and in order to achieve this, we need all stakeholders to be on board and respond to the calls to action we have set out in the prospectus.

“With the recent growth we have seen and the recession-fuelled desire for our economy to become more diverse, there has never been a better or more important time for social enterprise to establish itself as a credible, sustainable and mainstream business model.”

The half-day event attracted more than 100 senior-level delegates and laid out a blueprint for five specific audiences to drive forward.

Social entrepreneurs from Worcestershire were challenged to be more innovative and to position their businesses so they can compete for mainstream opportunities.

There were also calls for business support agencies to continue to develop and improve specialist assistance and to ensure that there was sufficient capacity to meet growing demand for advice and guidance.

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