Social enterprise – a recognised partner in the economy
The 2015 Scottish Social Enterprise Census was undertaken as a collaborative project between a group of agencies with a shared interest in promoting social enterprise in Scotland.
Key goals of the project included identifying the number of social enterprises, building a comprehensive understanding of their activity, assessing their contribution and undertaking a financial review of the sector.
Scotland has long been recognised as a world leader in socially-progressive business structures with over 40% of its social enterprises having been established in the past ten years. During this time, the sector has been embraced by the Scottish Government as an important partner in the economy, in civic society and as a provider of public services.
The findings in the census and report are a testament to the success of a sector that features:
- 5200 organisations employing 112,000 people
- 54% of businesses generating half or more of their income from trading
- 60% of organisations being led by a woman
- a growth rate of 200 new enterprises each year
The census and report clearly highlight the benefits of social enterprise in action while recognising the maturity of the sector and a growing sense of coherence among its key stakeholders.

Gerry Higgins, CEO of Community Enterprises in Scotland [CEIS] – one of the 2015 Census project partners – visiting Speedpak in September 2017
Beautifully designed, easy to read and available to view and/or download from the Social Enterprise in Scotland website in PDF format [2MB], this is an inspiring document full of interesting and valuable information.