Online support for Social Enterprise start-ups
A section of the Business Link website has been set up to provide advice and information for people thinking of starting a Social Enterprise.
Visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/trysocialenterprise to find out more.
Summit launches new Government support for Social Enterprise
Changes to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme (EFGS) set up to help small business survive the recession will see CDFIs able to access up to £20million in bank loans as part of a Government package to support social enterprises through the recession. The summit, held on 12 May, followed a programme of regional consultations and gives high level support to the social enterprise model as a means of delivering services to vulnerable people and providing an ethical and sustainable blueprint for business.
Alongside financial measures, a new working group of key Whitehall ministers will also be launched to investigate how social enterprises can compete better with the private sector to win public service contracts, and show how social enterprises can help deliver cross departmental government policy priorities. The outcomes of the summit have been broadly welcomed by the sector as an important step forward in joining up different government departments' agendas on social enterprise. Download the full Summit summary report at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/210555/summit_report.pdf
