Giving social enterprises a helping hand

摘要

Social enterprise has the power to transform our local communities, helping to regenerate neighbourhoods and increase community cohesion. As businesses with primarily social or environmental objectives, social enterprises can contribute significantly to the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of communities. Local authorities have a key role to play in encouraging their development. Ranging from small, community owned shops to large companies equipped to win multi-million-pound contracts, social enterprises contribute as much as any other small or medium enterprise, employing people and generating wealth. As well as benefiting the local community, social enterprises can have a positive impact on the lives of people in those communities, providing a route to employment, better incomes and greater independence. This is particularly true for black, Asian and minority ethnic women (BAME). Increasing the representation of ethnic minority women in social enterprise has great potential for employment and empowerment. Helping more BAME women start up social enterprises enables many groups of ethnic minority women, such as Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, who are under represented in the work- place and in society, to become more economically independent. It can also significantly enhance their role in the local community. The cleaning service set up by Shamim Hossain demonstrates how social enterprise can have a positive impact on a local community. Shamim set up Community Cleaning Services as a social enterprise to tackle the social exclusion of Muslim women in Tower Hamlets. The company's approach is to employ 'hard to reach' women, such as lone parents, disabled women and women who can't speak English. The women are trained to become professional cleaners. They have staff away days and network with other women's groups to encourage social integration. Today the company employs 14 Bangladeshi Muslim women and enables many more women to enter the workplace.