Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething has said…
Over the last few years, social enterprises have gone through some incredibly difficult and challenging times but have been at the heart of communities across Wales providing support to those most in need.
Social Enterprise Day provides all social enterprises with a platform to tell their stories, show what makes them different from traditional businesses and to shout about the positive impact that their work has on people and communities right across Wales. It’s also an opportunity to influence the next generation of entrepreneurs to choose social enterprise as the model of choice.
I have invested £1.7 million per year until April 2025 into the social enterprise sector to provide specialist business advice to support the ‘Transforming Wales through Social Enterprise’ vision, which puts social enterprises at the heart of a fairer, more sustainable and more prosperous Wales.
I know our business community still faces significant challenges. We want to use the levers we have through Social Business Wales to help social enterprises and co-operatives build resilience and innovate to unlock their huge potential.
Many social enterprises operate in sectors such as renewable energy, zero waste, food, biodiversity and land management. Some have environmental objectives and put improving their local area at the heart of their social aims.
By learning from the co-operative values and the co-operative movement, we are drawing and building on traditional and embedded Welsh values and principles.
There is huge potential for co-operatives and social enterprises to be the business model of choice, delivering solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges.
I want to thank each and every social enterprise for the contribution they continue to make to improving social and economic wellbeing in Wales.