Social enterprises in West Wales and the Valleys will benefit from a £7.1 million project to help them grow, the Deputy Minister for Regeneration, Leighton Andrews, announced today.
The Social Enterprise Support Project, made possible with £3.58 million through the European Union’s Convergence programmes, and £3.58 million match funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, will be delivered by the Wales Co-operative Centre.
The new project will raise awareness of the contribution social enterprises make to social and economic regeneration. It will also aim to identify gaps in service provision in some of Wales’ most deprived areas and undertake research into new opportunities.
In addition, the project will provide advice and support for pre-start social enterprises through a mentoring service, training and highlighting other agencies that can offer on-going help. These support services will be provided by a range of organisations recruited through ‘sell2Wales’.
The Social Enterprise Support Project will help at least 150 existing organisations and aims to create more than 50 new social enterprises and 300 jobs as part of a five-year programme to develop the sustainability and growth of such organisations in Wales.
Announcing the project at ‘Creating New Futures’, the Social Entrepreneurship Conference in Cardiff, the Deputy Minister for Regeneration, Leighton Andrews, said:
Social enterprises have a central role to play in providing services to local people, helping to regenerate communities and creating local wealth.
We are committed to creating an environment where social enterprises can grow to benefit society, the economy and the environment. This project will help establish thriving and sustainable social enterprises in West Wales and the Valleys.
Wales Co-operative Centre Chief Executive Simon Harris said:
We are delighted that the Deputy Minister has announced this new project. It means that a strategic, co-ordinated national programme of activity will be provided through marketing, networking, research, advice, mentoring, workshops and master classes, enabling many co-operatives, social enterprises and credit unions to develop.
The Welsh European Funding Office and Welsh Assembly Government have shown tremendous confidence in the Centre to carry out this programme of support – they have also demonstrated how vital they consider the sector to be to the social and economic wellbeing of Wales.