Newry & Mourne Co-Operative #
Newry & Mourne Co-operative and Enterprise Agency has been providing support for Social Enterprises since the Coop’s formation in 1972. Although back in those days social enterprises were known as Community Businesses.
Problem addressed #
Support for social economy companies.
Objectives & implementation #
Social Enterprises are businesses that are changing the world for the better. Like traditional businesses they aim to make a profit but it’s what they do with their profits that sets them apart – reinvesting or donating them to create positive social change. Social enterprises are in our communities and on our high streets – from coffee shops and craft shops, to garden centres and sports clubs, credit unions and community transport companies.
By selling goods and services in the open market, social enterprises create employment and reinvest their profits back into their business or the local community. This allows them to tackle social problems, improve people’s life chances, provide training and employment opportunities for those furthest from the market, support communities and help the environment.
Social enterprises exist in nearly every sector from consumer goods to healthcare, community energy to creative agencies, restaurants to facilities management. There are over 100 social enterprises in Newry, Mourne & Down, examples include Win Business Park, Down Business Centre, Newry Credit Union, Southern Area Hospice Services, Made In Mourne, SlackPress Media, Cycle Recycle and the Good Space but 70,000 social enterprises in the UK contribute £18.5 Billion GVA to the economy and employ 970,000 people. They’re creating jobs and opportunities for those most marginalised from the workforce, transforming the communities they work in and making
Stakeholders #
Participants on the programme include those working in tourism, social farming, horticulture, craft, education and training, retail, workspace provision, healthcare, childcare, catering, day-care, health & wellbeing, sport, counselling, media production, alternative therapies, yoga and meditation
Timescale #
Since 1972 to the present.
Fields of application #
Newry & Mourne region.
Transferability #
Difficult to transfer, however similar models do exist. This is a community driven model.
Impact & Results #
Social Enterprise Newry Mourne Down (SENMD) is an innovative programme of support helping individuals and groups explore new social enterprise ideas to help them find sustainable socially innovative solutions to social problems.
SENMD is a Newry Mourne and Down District Council programme delivered jointly by Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency and Down Business Centre. The programme provides a flexible and tailored menu of support to individual social entrepreneurs and community groups wish to explore social enterprise as a sustainable model for meeting a social need.
Social Enterprise Newry Mourne Down provides support to help:
- Social Innovation and Ideas development
- Market Research
- Company Setup and legal issues
- Business planning skills and financial projections.
- Levering in start-up funding
- Advice on how to recruit and manage employees.
- PR and marketing advice.
- Leadership skills: How to communicate organisational vision.
- Business growth and opportunity management.
- Mentoring and Coaching
The programme also facilitates co-operation and co-production to strengthen the social enterprise network across the council district through building partnerships, group mentoring and networking events.
