SEPTEMBER 2018

Social Business Wales: 2018 Conference
Supporting social businesses with aspirations
to grow and be more sustainable
How do you get jobs and contracts into some
of society’s poorest communities? This will be one
of the issues discussed at the Social Business
Wales (SBW) Conference on 27 September, where
social businesses (co-operatives, mutuals, social
enterprises and employee-owned businesses) will
gather to share experiences, expertise and ideas
around the issue.
Held annually for the social enterprise and
co-operative sector in Wales, SBW 2018 is a
free event funded by the Welsh government and
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and
will be held at City Hall, Cardiff. It is delivered by
the Wales Co-operative Centre, the national body
for co-operatives and social businesses, which
also manages projects which tackle poverty and
promote inclusion through co-operative working.
Rhian Edwards is project manager for Social
Business Wales at the Wales Co-operative Centre,
and believes the social business sector in Wales
is “redefining how business gets done”. In Wales,
social businesses employ over 40,000 people,
offer volunteering opportunities to approximately
50,000 and contribute an estimated £2.37bn to
the national economy.
“This year’s Social Business Wales Conference is
specifically intended to provide social businesses
in Wales with inspiration, ideas and practical
skills which will help them enter new markets,
develop new products and services or adopt new
structures,” she says, “all of which will enable
them to grow and be more sustainable.
“We will be encouraging all our delegates
attending, whether they are from a social
enterprise, charity, co-operative or mutual, to
share best practice; encourage innovation; and
learn from and build partnerships with the private,
public and not-for-profit sector.”
In 2017, the Wales Co-operative Centre
conducted research to map social businesses in
Wales, surveying almost half the organisations
operating in the sector. It found that social
businesses are often located in areas
of deprivation – with 72% describing their main
social or environmental objectives as seeking to
improve a particular community. Almost half were
seeking to improve health and wellbeing.
The report also noted that the typical size of a
social business (in turnover) has increased, but
that lack of – or poor access to – funding was the
most commonly identified constraint on business
growth. Over half of respondents identified
additional barriers, particularly insufficient
staffing/volunteers, the impact of Brexit, and
public sector austerity measures.
From left: Sarah
Dickens, Ken Skates, Dai
Powell and Guy Singh-
Watson
30 | SEPTEMBER 2018