Minister encourages commissioners to embrace social enterprise

Third sector minister Angela Smith says she will work with the Social Enterprise Ambassadors to help public sector commissioners understand the movement, get more young people involved and encourage job swaps between mainstream business and social enterprise.

During a tour of east London social enterprises with 13 ambassadors last week, Smith said she was committed to ‘spreading the news’ of social enterprise and encouraging more social enterprise start-ups.

Responding to calls from the ambassadors for her influence, she said: ‘The ambassadors asked for help with encouraging commissioners to embrace social enterprise and we can work with them on that.’

‘They also asked about job swaps between people in social enterprise and other business people. I will see if anyone wants to swap with me!’

Ten ambassadors – Martin Kinsella, Sophi Tranchell, Karen Lowthrop, Craig Dearden-Phillips, Saeeda Ahmed, Trisha Lee, Chris Allwood, Sam Conniff, Kresse Wesling, and Peter Holbrook – met the minister for breakfast at social enterprise restaurant Fifteen to discuss the role of social enterprise and their work as ambassadors.

There were further meetings with ambassadors when Smith met Fifteen CEO Penny Newman before touring HCT Group with Dai Powell and Novas Scarman with Maria Donoghue-Mills.

HCT CEO Powell said Smith was ‘one of the most engaged third sector ministers we’ve met’.

‘Hopefully, she will be the one to see social enterprise go mainstream,’ he said.

Find out more about the ambassadors at socialenterpriseambassadors.org.uk.

Source: www.socialenterpriselive.com