Three areas of Scotland have been recognised for the impact of social enterprises in the area by Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary, Aileen Campbell MSP.

The islands of Uist and Lewis have been formally announced as official Social Enterprise Places while the Govan area of Glasgow will be highlighted as ‘one to watch’ in 2021.

Social Enterprise Places are local areas where social enterprise activity is thriving, from neighbourhoods, to villages, towns, islands and both urban and rural communities. Social Enterprise Scotland has been encouraging local areas to recognise themselves as Social Enterprise Places committed to developing and investing in their local areas.

The programme aims to promote, raise awareness, and build markets for social enterprises. While 2021 remains a challenging time for many areas the pandemic has also highlighted the role that social enterprise plays in supporting their community and Social Enterprise Scotland want to make sure their work is highlighted.

Thomas Fisher, Director at CoDeL, representing Uist commented:

In Scotland, islands have the highest density of social enterprise per head of population.  In Uist there are over 50 social and community enterprises, from large to very small, that are existential to the resilience, and thriving, of our island communities made up of 5000 people. 

We are delighted that Social Enterprise Scotland is recognising the role social and community enterprises have been playing on Uist for four decades in delivering to community needs, building community wealth, and developing our islands as attractive places to live and work.  They also generate 10% of all jobs for people under 40 on the islands, enabling young people to return, stay or settle and contribute so much to our island communities.

Chris Martin, CEO at Social Enterprise Scotland, added: 

We know that across Scotland there are many other places waiting to be recognised as exemplars and we look forward to highlighting them as we build on the Places programme. We were also pleased to welcome Govan as ‘one to watch’ noting, that while shining a light on our island communities, the scheme has also seen the impact of social enterprise in our largest city by population too.

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