Social enterprise

A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.
Source: The Department of Trade and Industry

Bridgend County Borough Council recognises that social enterprises have the potential to play a key role in the regeneration of Bridgend’s disadvantaged communities and is committed to developing the social economy and assisting social enterprises to grow and prosper.

The Social Economy team currently consists of two full time members of staff and one part time secondee from our partner organisation the Wales Co-op Centre. The project is managed by the EDU’s Principal Economic Development Officer - Project Development and Implementation.

Many community and voluntary groups are looking to engage in trading activities to reduce their dependency on grants and donations. Trading successfully as a business will help them to contribute to a more inclusive society and the regeneration of their local communities.

Help and advice

The Social Enterprise team is able to provide a broad range of specialist support to both emerging and existing social enterprise. The range of support available includes help with business planning; guidance on legal structures; training for the board of directors of social enterprises; assistance with identifying and accessing appropriate funding and signposting to other specialist social enterprise support organisations.

For further information, please contact Economic Development on 01656 815319.