John Swinney has announced a new initiative to support businesses that aid disadvantaged groups.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth has outlined plans for the Scottish Executive will make available additional economic development support to social enterprises, which will help increase skills in order to maximise income generation, secure investment in the business and provide more services for those who need them.

This support will cover business, financial and investment readiness planning, staff and board development, as well as market research, marketing and legal support.

Swinney said: “We are determined to build on the ambitions of enterprising Scots, to turn around lacklustre economic performance and to ensure that more people benefit from an increasingly successful economy.

“By balancing the needs of service users and service providers, social enterprises provide a bridge between the formal economy and the voluntary sector, offering a first step towards employment to thousands of previously excluded people.

“By using a business model, social enterprises can provide social and environmental benefits in a sustainable way, earning the income that helps them to grow and therefore deliver more services.

“Today, we are announcing our intention to invite organisations to bid for a contract to help social enterprises gain the enterprise skills they need to become sustainable businesses.

“We will provide the right support for social enterprises so that they can then access mainstream business development support, including those offered by Business Gateway and their Local Enterprise Company.”

The contract, which will be bid for is expected to run for one year initially, and to be in operation by the end of November 2007, and will be worth up to £350,000. It may be extended until March 2011, depending on the performance of the contractor and on further funds being made available through the current spending review process.

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