Ten Years On: What comes next for Social Enterprise in Scotland
Posted: 17 March 2026, in Blog-News
This year marks the end of Scotland’s Social Enterprise Strategy 2016–2026. When it was first developed, it was something quite unique. Rather than government writing a strategy for the sector, it was co-produced with the sector itself. Social enterprises, networks, intermediaries and policymakers came together to shape a shared direction of travel.
Over the last decade, that strategy has been delivered through three action plans, supporting everything from start-ups to international leadership, alongside new approaches to procurement, social investment and business support.
As a result, Scotland now has one of the most established and visible social enterprise ecosystems in the world.
The latest census identifies a sector of more than 6,000 organisations, employing over 90,000 people and generating more than £5 billion in income each year. But the numbers only tell part of the story.
Across the country, social enterprises run nurseries, community hubs, renewable energy projects, tourism businesses, recycling services and much more. They are rooted in communities and reinvest their profits locally. They create jobs where markets often fail and deliver services where the state cannot always reach.
That diversity is one of the sector’s greatest strengths.
But the context around social enterprise has also evolved significantly since the strategy was first written.
Scotland is now introducing legislation through the Community Wealth Building Bill, alongside wider commitments in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation, including Action 44, which recognises the role of inclusive and democratic business models in the economy.
These developments change the landscape in important ways.
Rather than simply replacing one strategy with another, our focus now is on working with government and local authorities to ensure social enterprise is fully embedded within these new economic frameworks. That means not only shaping what the next phase of support for the sector should look like, but also ensuring that the commitments being made through legislation translate into real opportunities for social enterprises on the ground.
In particular, Scotland has begun to talk more openly about the role of inclusive and democratic business models in the wider economy.
Social enterprise has been part of that story for decades, but it sits alongside other forms of democratic ownership, including co-operatives, employee-owned businesses, community-owned assets and other mission-led enterprises. Rather than seeing these as competing ideas, there is an opportunity to align ambition across the whole spectrum.
Social enterprises will continue to play a distinctive role within that landscape. They are often the pioneers of new approaches, particularly where communities want to retain wealth locally and tackle social challenges through enterprise.
But the future will require stronger connections between these models, clearer pathways for entrepreneurs and communities, and a policy environment that recognises the contribution they make to Scotland’s economy. That means thinking more seriously about procurement, finance, ownership transitions and local economic development, and how these can support enterprises that reinvest wealth and power back into communities.
It also means being confident about identity.
As interest grows in inclusive and democratic business models, social enterprises must remain clear about what makes them distinctive: trading for social purpose, reinvesting profits and putting people and communities at the heart of enterprise.
Scotland is often looked to internationally as a leader in social enterprise policy. That reputation has been built over many years through collaboration between the government and the sector. The task now is to build on that legacy, while ensuring that related models, including co-operatives and employee-owned businesses, are also supported to strengthen the distinctive principles that underpin their contribution.
Over the coming period, we will work with partners across the sector and with government to explore what the next phase of support should look like.
The goal remains the same as it was ten years ago: a policy landscape that allows social enterprises to start, grow and thrive, while continuing to demonstrate that a fairer and more democratic economy is not just possible, but already happening across Scotland.
The last decade showed what can be achieved when government and the sector work together.
The next chapter should aim even higher.
Chris Martin, CEO, Social Enterprise Scotland