Social enterprise is rapidly emerging as one of the engines of growth in the UK economy, contributing more than £24bn and employing almost one million people. We need to nurture this nascent sector in our economy, and help it to thrive and grow.
The combination of tighter public finances and the requirements of the recent Social Value Act have created more opportunities for social enterprises. The most nimble are serving communities and creating local employment.
Better access to seed capital is also driving growth. Big Society Capital is now managing around £600m worth of social investment funding. The Social Business Trust (SBT), and organisations like it, have helped to increase the awareness of social enterprise, secure investment and direct both capital and skills where they are needed. The trust has already invested in six social enterprises, helping them to grow revenues by an average of 77%, creating around 1,000 new jobs and helping 100,000 beneficiaries.
But social enterprise needs more than just capital investment and the private sector is well placed to help. Big businesses can offer skills, knowledge and geographical reach to grow social enterprises sustainably and at scale. The opportunities are growing; I see a clear role for the energy industry to support organisations that help communities manage their energy needs and we will be looking to increase our work in this area in the months and years to come.
British Gas recently established a new partnership with the SBT, becoming the first household brand with a national presence to join forces with the charity. It is also the first time that we've entered a partnership of this kind and on such a scale. It is an exciting moment for us and for social enterprise.
We're investing £5m over the next five years in cash, skills and expertise to help create 5,000 employment and skills opportunities, through the delivery of local services in some of the most vulnerable communities in the UK. We've seconded a full-time member of staff to work with the SBT to establish a clear picture of the investment pipeline. We've also delivered marketing and strategy support to London-based social enterprise Bikeworks, which uses retail cycling workshops to bring jobs and skills to disadvantaged communities, to scale up their model, and have been providing marketing skills and advice to a not-for-profit company that offers a community based alternative to high interest payday loan companies.
We have more than 30,000 employees working in Britain's communities and are encouraging this national network to identify further worthy causes for us to support with the partnership. Together we can improve livelihoods and people's standard of living.
But this isn't charity on our part. As a leading British business, we feel it's important that we act responsibly to support communities and are proud to be leading the way towards a cleaner, greener, more affordable and energy efficient Britain – helping millions of homes and businesses. We also rely on a workforce which is both engaged and which is constantly building relationships with the homes and businesses we serve.
Social enterprises are already emerging as a valued part of our supply chain – they are working in local communities to address fuel poverty, carbon reduction and energy efficiency. For many public and private sector organisations, social enterprises have become an important partner in delivering services, creating local jobs and sustainable growth. We want to help develop these growth opportunities.
Phil Bentley is managing director of British Gas
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