An innovative social investment initiative supported by Legal & General and managed by CAF Venturesome has completed two rounds of investments over a busy summer.
25 Oct 2018
In June and July we held our annual pitch days for our place-based fund for start-up social enterprises in Greater Brighton and Wales. This has been our 5th round of investments in Greater Brighton (previously Sussex and Croydon) and 3rd round of investments in Wales, with an overall capital commitment of over £800,000 across the fund.
The SE-Assist fund helps social organisations with a clear social or environmental impact that has an annual turnover of less than £500,000 and is working towards a sustainable business model. We offer interest free loans of up to £30,000 (interest bearing up to £60,000) repayable over 3 years to help social organisations with cashflow to build long-term sustainability or development finance to help them grow. Working with our local delivery partners, we offer our investees access to a bank of experts and an experienced mentor who provides business experience and guidance.
Based on collaborative partnerships between business, the public sector, and community stakeholders, which include Legal & General, the Welsh Government, the Institute of Directors Wales, the Wales Co-operative Centre, Business in the Community Wales, The Pebble Trust, Coast to Capital LEP, Brighton & Hove City Council, The Goodall Foundation and Mary Nixon Trust. SE-Assist is locally focused. The investment decisions are made by a locally based Social Investment Committee ensuring support is responsive to needs in the community.
This year we are delighted that a selection of organisations we have offered financial support to in Greater Brighton are:
And in Wales:
We look forward to getting to know these social organisations well over the next few years as part of our growing SE-Assist portfolio of 36 organisations.
We are proud that through our SE-Assist Fund we can offer social organisations affordable, flexible, repayable finance. This means that our investees can find new and better solutions for challenges within their local community, which results in stronger social organisations sustaining and growing their social impact on real people’s lives.