The figures behind our growing social enterprise

Today I read that according to stats announced at the World Economic Forum, there are approximately 10 million social enterprises across the world, which collectively generate around $2 trillion in annual revenues, creating over 200 million jobs. I found this staggering and it made me wonder where our social enterprise, New Start Highland, fits into this wider picture. Time to do a bit of maths!

Data gathered by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship tracked a global community of over 470 leading social enterprises, which have directly impacted over 891 million lives over the past 25 years. This equates to each organisation impacting 75,829 lives a year. No mean feat. But looking inward, in 2023 alone, New Start Highland directly served our Highland community over 120,000 times. I am so proud of this figure I often just churn it over in my head to remind myself of what our team achieves year on year.

2023 was one of our busiest and most successful years to date. We were working hard, like all charities and social enterprises, against an ever-present cost of living crisis. We hold an unwavering belief in the power of social entrepreneurialism which has propelled New Start Highland forward since I set it up in 2000. Our New Start Highland journey started by giving people ‘stuff’. Our community donated furniture and we passed it on to people in need. But what we soon saw was that ‘stuff’ only gets you so far. We realised the need for employability support, help managing a housing tenancy along with opportunities to get back into the world of work in some sort of capacity. The ways our social enterprise could help people were constantly growing – and they continue to do so.

Now, by interacting with one organisation which all sits under one (pretty big!) roof, our clients and service users can receive a whole range of lifeline services. These include receiving essential furniture, starter packs and meals to help create a safe, comfortable home; getting support from our housing support team to navigate the complex benefits system and bolster their income or maintain their tenancy, whilst undertaking employability training to gain qualifications and work experience leading to sustainable employment or further education.

Volunteers can come and work in one of our five retail outlets and we have mentoring programmes and work experience placements in our bike or furniture upholstery workshops. We offer advice and support on how to make the best use of energy, we offer courses and help on how to cook and eat healthily on a budget. We recognise that we are all people, and we strive to offer all people in need, the right support, at the right time, in the right way. The opportunities are endless.

We are working on some very exciting expansion plans which I can’t wait to progress and while our annual turnover may not be that of Apple at $383 billion or Microsoft at $218 billion I am proud to work in the third sector and feel like we are sitting in a strong place alongside the 470 leading global social enterprises in the report. Social enterprise matters. The figures speak for themselves.

James Dunbar, Chief Executive