The South West is often seen as a prosperous region, but for many communities, the reality is more complex, with pockets of deprivation and persistent inequality. Across rural towns and coastal areas, many people face low wages, limited job opportunities and rising living costs. Inequality here can be less visible than in larger cities, but it’s still deeply felt.

Around 1 in 5 children in working households are living in poverty, and nearly 600,000 working-age adults across the region are affected1. For many, the challenge isn’t just finding work - it’s finding stable, well-paid work that allows them to create fulfilling lives.

Creating meaningful opportunities

At the same time, the South West is home to a vibrant and growing social enterprise sector, as Social Enterprise UK, reports2:

• Around 13,000 social enterprises
• Supporting c128,000 jobs
• Generating £5 billion in turnover
• With the majority reinvesting profits into social impact

These organisations are rooted in their communities, creating jobs, delivering services and tackling the causes of poverty in ways that are locally-relevant and sustainable.

What makes social enterprises particularly powerful is their ability to combine business activity with a clear social purpose, playing a vital role in:

• Creating jobs in areas where opportunities are limited
• Supporting people facing barriers into work
• Keeping economic value within local communities
• Designing services that reflect real local needs

Because they are embedded in their communities, they are often best placed to reach those might otherwise be overlooked and who often need support most.

Investment to increase impact: The Ivybridge Brewing Company

A recent example of this is The Ivybridge Brewing Company, a Devon-based social enterprise brewery that creates employment and training opportunities for local people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

With £25,000 of investment from Resonance’s Enterprise Investment (REI) Fund, the organisation has expanded into a neighbouring building, increasing its brewing capacity, upgrading its taproom and creating space to grow its supported employment programme.

Employing a team where the majority are neurodiverse, the brewery not only produces and sells a popular range of beers locally, but also helps individuals build confidence, develop practical and social skills, and gain meaningful work experience.

As it continues to grow, The Ivybridge Brewing Company is demonstrating how a successful local business can also create inclusive employment opportunities and strengthen its community; a simple but powerful example of how the right investment can unlock local potential.

The right finance and support for social enterprises

Despite their many strengths, many social enterprises - including those in the South West - face barriers to growth, particularly access to flexible, patient capital.

That’s where social investment can make a difference. Funds like REI – that invests direct into high impact social enterprises – may be able to provide not just the right kind of finance, but also the support and flexibility social enterprises need to grow sustainably, increase their impact and deliver lasting change.

By backing South West based social enterprises with the investment they need, funds like REI, can help organisations scale their impact and create jobs, strengthen communities and open opportunities for people across the region – helping to build a fairer, more inclusive regional economy.

The Resonance Enterprise Investment (REI) Fund

Building on the success of our Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) funds and Health & Wellbeing Challenge (South West) Fund, REI enables capital to flow directly into high-impact social enterprises working within their communities to create positive change across three key impact areas: tackling socio-economic inequality, improving health and wellbeing, and supporting the transition to a lower-carbon economy.

The UK’s social enterprise sector is a fast-growing part of the economy, delivering essential services, creating inclusive employment and building resilience where it is needed most. With mission-aligned finance from initiatives like REI, organisations like Ivybridge Brewing Company are better positioned to tackle systemic challenges and build a more equitable future for the people and communities they support.

Find out more about REI fund, here. 

Sources

1 The TUC: The South West poverty report

2 Social Enterprise UK: State of the South West