Record number of organisations supported by SOSE in latest annual report
We engaged with and supported over 2,100 businesses, social enterprises and community groups in the last financial year.
The figures are included in our latest annual report and accounts, which highlight the investments and impacts the region’s community and economic development agency has made during the year which runs from April 2024 to March 2025.
The total of 2,156 organisations which SOSE engaged with and supported was a significant increase on the 1,300 assisted in 2023/24, and more than any other financial year since we launched five years ago.
As well as engaging with these organisations, £10.3m was approved by SOSE to 558 client-facing funded projects across the South.
This in turn helped support 377 jobs which were either created or safeguarded.
The annual report and accounts also highlights SOSE’s work to unlock ambitions of new entrepreneurs, with over 3,000 people supported through coaching and events.
2024/25 also saw the launch of the Pathways pilot programme, which worked with 262 women and people from under-represented groups to create over 100 businesses.
More facts and figures
- £28.5m of investment supported in Net Zero opportunities
- £19.1m of investment supported in Natural Capital opportunities
- £31.3m of capital investment projects supported
- £23.5m leveraged as a result of SOSE funded support
- Supported 245 clients to innovate
- 55 live projects from outwith the region interested in investing in the South
- A total of 374 (67%) of the organisations approved for funding are female-led.
- 3,605 tonnes of CO2 savings by clients and projects thanks to SOSE support
The 2024/25 annual report and accounts also marks five years of SOSE.
Since its inception in April 2020, SOSE has created and safeguarded an estimated 10,000 jobs, and approved direct grant funding of over £50m to 800 businesses, organisations and community groups.
Russel Griggs OBE, Chair of SOSE, added:
“South of Scotland Enterprise was established in April 2020 to create a new and different type of economic development agency, and we are well on the way to achieving that.
“When we launched, we promised we would work with our communities to drive inclusive growth, increase competitiveness, and tackle inequality across Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders.
“We started almost on the same day as the first COVID lockdown - one of a series of unprecedented challenges we have all faced over the last five years, including the cost-of-living crisis and geopolitical instability. However, this same period has also presented us with many opportunities which are providing us with a brighter future.
“Our latest annual report and accounts highlight not just the financial support we now provide but also what I see as our key impact – the knowledge and expertise our staff bring to help communities and businesses to plan and grow for the future.
“The ‘invisible’ impact of our staff is vital, valued by those we work with and is where we have our biggest influence and increasingly so in the future.”
SOSE Chief Executive Jane Morrison-Ross said:
“Despite the challenges in the last five years, our businesses and communities have shown a resilience and will to succeed and flourish, which continues to inspire us all at SOSE.
“This joint vision, ambition and determination is now paying dividends, with a record number of organisations engaging with SOSE in our 2024/25 report.
“We are committed to continuing to work closely with our region’s businesses and communities, alongside our partners, to seize the opportunities ahead and create the rural economic powerhouse we know the South of Scotland can be.”