Plymouth became the UK’s first ‘Social Enterprise City’ in September 2013. The national organisation, Social Enterprise UK, awarded us this prestigious accolade in recognition of the amazing range of social enterprise activity taking place in the city.

A social enterprise is a business with a good cause, examples in Plymouth range from huge businesses such as Plymouth Community Healthcare, Plymouth University and Plymouth Community Homes to the smaller businesses and the two people micro social enterprises.

Director of Iridescent Ideas CIC Gareth Hart has always thought that; “the spiritual heart of the Social Enterprise City was Devonport. It was here that the bid for the Social Enterprise City status was dreamt up.”

Devonport is home to several important social enterprises that have helped shape the community over the years. Businesses such as Real Ideas Organisation who run the Devonport Guildhall and Column Bakehouse, Bikespace, Flameworks, Routeways, Pembroke Street EMB, Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise who run the Devonport dental clinic and, of course, Devonport Live.

The recently produced Directory of Social Enterprise in Plymouth shows that these ethical businesses bring in over £500 million to Plymouth’s economy and employ around 7,000 people. Social enterprise is big business in the city. We would like to see more people starting up social enterprises in Devonport and further afield.

Watch out for activities on the national ‘Social Saturday’ on the 10th October where Devonport will again play a leading role in demonstrating the great things that social enterprises are doing in the city. You can use your spending power to make a positive difference by buying from social enterprises