About
What is a social enterprise?
Social enterprises are businesses that trade to tackle social problems, improve communities, people’s life chances, or the environment. They make their money from selling goods and services in the open market, but they reinvest their profits back into the business or the local community. And so when they profit, society profits.
Why buy from a social enterprise?
Bringing social enterprises into your supply chain can deliver a range of benefits for your business. It can help you meet your corporate social responsibility objectives, such as reducing your carbon footprint, tackling unemployment or supporting people with mental health issues. It can help you ensure the money you already spend on goods and services stays in your local community, or that it goes to a cause your staff are passionate about.
Social enterprises deliver essential, cost-effective public services, helping local government improve the quality of services, support community development and address social exclusion
The Buy Social campaign
Buy Social campaign, aims to boost trade with social enterprises. Social enterprises operate in almost every industry: from catering, transport to training, healthcare to housing, finance to facilities management, and recycling to regeneration.
Consumers, councils, charities and private sector businesses are all their customers.
How Social Enterprise NI can help you
We can:
- Help companies find social enterprises directly from our membership to meet your company’s specific needs.
- Help companies organise ‘meet the buyer / meet the supplier’ events to help engage with and showcase social enterprises.
