The South East Social Enterprise Partnership with UnLtd is co-funded by SEEDA and the European Social Fund.

The South East Social Enterprise Partnership (SESEP) was formed in January 2002 by Social Firms South East (SFSE), the Development Trusts Association (DTA SE) and Coops South East (Coops SE). Following a very successful first round of ESF Co-finance delivery, UnLtd , an organisation that makes awards to social entrepreneurs, was invited to join with SESEP. This extends the scope of the partnership in order to:

• Bring together the collective resources and experience,
• To share common issues for those needing information, advice, guidance and support in their goal of sustainable social enterprise development.

SESEP UnLtd are working strategically with other regional stakeholders to add value and longevity to existing programmes. The support and opportunities offered under the ESF Co-finance programme will enhance the business acumen of social enterprise practitioners and improve their prospects for successful trading and service delivery.

The SESEP UnLtd project as well as SEEDA and the DTI Social Enterprise Unit use the following definition of ‘social enterprise’

Social Enterprise:

A social enterprise is a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.

The following are short definitions of the models of social enterprise used by three of the key support agencies:

Social Firm

‘A Social Firm is a market-led businesses set up specifically to create jobs for disabled people.'

DTA

‘A community-based regeneration organisation’

Co-ops

‘A jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise aimed at meeting the common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations of its members'

Further details on the work of the four partners’ can be obtained by contacting the organisations.

For more information on UnLtd please go to www.UnLtd.org.uk .