Enabling entrepreneurs

The Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs programme, which launched in 2012 in partnership with The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) and BIG Lottery Fund, will enter its fifth year in 2017.

The collaboration with SSE is designed to support social entrepreneurs in communities and through them help stimulate economic growth and regeneration across the UK.

The programme aims to tackle a number of social issues including reducing social isolation, improving education and supporting vulnerable people whilst encouraging young people to become entrepreneurial.

The BIG Lottery Fund recently commissioned research that demonstrates the programme has had a real positive social impact on people, businesses and communities.

It particularly stands out in regards to the breadth of social issues addressed and the range of groups supported. The most significant findings of the study estimate that over the five years of the partnership, those who have taken part in the programme will create over 7,000 jobs and support 1.1 million beneficiaries.

The programme is unique in its scale and design, primarily for the large focus it puts on entrepreneurs making a real difference in their local community.

The social entrepreneurs, or fellows as they’re known, come from a diverse range of backgrounds and a number of regions across the UK, with half working in the 20% most deprived geographical communities.

It is common for entrepreneurs to support economic development by creating local employment opportunities with this programme being of no exception; 84% of fellows recruit employees from the local labour market and 89% reinvest their profits or surplus for social or environmental benefit.

Since 2012, the partnership has supported over 1,000 social entrepreneurs to start and build innovative social organisations. 　

The programme provides financial grants to participants, but also delivers comprehensive practical learning through the scheme and every fellow has an assigned business mentor from Lloyds Banking Group to help them get off the ground and give guidance when needed.

These benefits alongside the partnerships’ growing reputation, means that more and more want to take part demonstrated by a 27% increase on applications from last year.

As part of Lloyds Banking Group, the Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs programme plays a central role in the Group’s Helping Britain Prosper Plan where we have set a target to support 1,300 social entrepreneurs by 2017.

The Plan outlines our commitment to help businesses of all types and sizes to prosper, by offering them the funding, the support and the encouragement they need to grow.