14 September 2011.
New research released by Social Enterprise UK has uncovered an emerging generation of businesses that are both starting up and operating in Britain’s most deprived communities.
The findings of the Fightback Britain report show that 39% of all social enterprises are based and working in the most deprived communities in the UK, compared to 13% of all SMEs. A third of all social enterprise start-ups have also originated in the UK’s poorest areas.
The report also states:
- 27% of social enterprises surveyed approached a CDFI for funding (16 % speciality lender, 9% community development fund)
- The single largest barrier to the sustainability of social enterprises is access to finance, with 44% of respondents saying that they are still hampered by the availability and affordability of funding
- Start-ups are more likely than others to have applied to specialist lenders (29%), and the likelihood of applying to a high street bank increases with the age of social enterprises, from 9% of start-ups to 21% of those who have been in operation for 11 years or more.
Community Development Finance Institutions clearly play and important role in the development and growth of the social enterprise market in the UK, more so when it comes to getting social enterprises off the ground in the first place.
If you are a social enterprise and are looking for finance please visit www.findingfinance.org.uk to search for your nearest CDFI.