Five publicly owned bodies in Wales are committing to increasing their spend with social enterprises.
Transport for Wales, Development Bank of Wales, Public Health Wales, NHS Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) are also working with Social Business Connect to embed social value across major contracts.
All five organisations will be raising awareness of the Buy Social for a Better World campaign this week which is being backed by Welsh actor and patron of Social Enterprise UK, Michael Sheen.
Social enterprises are businesses set up reinvest the money they make back into their social or environmental cause.
There are over 2,000 of these businesses in Wales contributing an estimated £3bn to the Welsh economy (£60bn to the UK economy) and employing around 55,000 people.
Social Business Connect from the Wales Co-operative Centre is a commercial consultancy service to support organisations in the development of their supply chains in order to trade with the social business sector.
Rhian Edwards, lead consultant for Social Business Connect said: “Wales is entering its most challenging period in decades. Our post-industrial and rural communities once the power house of the local economy have suffered years of decline and under investment. That’s where social business comes alive.
"Social businesses are anchored in their communities and any investment stays in the community and is used for wider economic and social benefits. While they often operate in hard to reach, economically challenged communities they employ more people relative to turnover than other businesses.”
Sarah Jane Waith, head of supply chain and contract management at Transport for Wales said: “At Transport for Wales we have a real opportunity to increase the social and environmental impact of our procurement and help to scale up the social business sector in Wales.
"There is still a perception out there that social businesses don’t have the resources or skills set to deliver on the outputs required of these major public sector contracts but they couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Chief executive of the Development Bank of Wales, Giles Thorley, said: "What will be evident from this week’s Buy Social campaign is that the social business sector is growing right across our economy and scaling quickly.
"They are not only delivering vital services and jobs where people need them, they are helping businesses contribute to the well-being goals of the Future Generations Wales Act.”
