Why are so many people globally still living in poverty?
Why are so many families in the UK forced to choose between putting the heating on or cooking a decent meal?
The answer - both globally and locally - the economy is broken. It no longer works for us all (if it ever did)
Relentless pursuit of corporate profits which end up in the pockets of shareholders means that the way our economy is structured makes sure that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
But it doesn't have to be this way and social enterprises - those which put profit to the benefit of people and planet - are at the vanguard of a movement for change
An estimated 4 million people work in social enterprise, B-corps, charities and the democratic economy – around 10% of the UK workforce.
• Social enterprises alone contributed 3.4% of UK GDP last year; they made £1.2bn in profit and reinvested £1 bn into social and environmental missions, while FTSE 100 companies spent record amounts on share buybacks and £170bn on shareholder dividends.
• Sharing profits and prioritising social impact also makes mission-led organisations like All's Fair more financially resilient than traditional business: The number of UK firms going bust is at a 30 year high and only 42% of UK businesses are still trading after 5 years, whereas co-operatives are much more resilient with 83% still trading after 5 years. Our own story bears this out - we almost went under in early 2022 when we closed our e-commerce website but by the end of that same year we had switched focus, reformed, transformed and become what we are today - a verified social enterprise working for the economic empowerment of Ghanaian cocoa growing communities, and spreading the fair trade message in the North of England
• This resilience also benefits those who need it most – 22% of social enterprises operate in the most deprived areas of the UK, compared to 14% of wider business.
• Workers in employee-owned businesses and co-ops are 8-12% more productive than people working in other businesses. These mission-led models are also more than 2x as likely to have fair wage accreditation, and more than 75% more likely to have a Net Zero or carbon management strategy in place.
So when the UK general election comes, we want to be ready to help build a future economy that works for people and planet - are you with us?
Find out more on the Future Economy Alliance website
Download the Business Plan for Britain
Follow @FutureEconomyUK on social media