A recent report (The Hidden Revolution) published by Social Enterprise UK in Autumn 2018, looked into the size and scale of the social enterprise sector in the UK. The Hidden Revolution noted that the sector is 3 times the size of the agricultural sector and the top 5 social enterprises pay more tax than Amazon, Facebook and Starbucks combined.
It went on to note other key statistics which show the sector is significant and has been underestimated in the past. The report identified that:
- There are more than 100,000 social enterprises in the UK
- They are worth £60bn to UK GDP
- They employ more than 2 million people which is around 5% of the UK workforce
Now we are probably biased here, but it makes good sense to us to have a social enterprise business model which uses business principles to create a positive impact on society. In our opinion social enterprises provide much greater value than the traditional business model which serves to line the pockets of directors and shareholders, as social enterprise distribute wealth more evenly.
So we encourage you to read the report, spread the word about social enterprise as a sustainable and good business model and help the hidden revolution and social enterprises become visible to the general public.