![](/media/6268/news-item-default.jpg?width=630&height=350&v=1d5c9fd0dd8f990&format=webp&quality=100)
The visit is part of the next project meeting of the Support Network for Social Entrepreneurs (SuNSE) and will take place during 1-3 October in Inverness and Sutherland.
SuNSE is a three-year Interreg North West Europe partnership project, which aims to support, nurture and grow social entrepreneurship across North West Europe.
The partnership is made up of nine organisations from eight countries, representing a diverse range of economies and geographies.
Each of the partner regions represent varied socio-economic landscapes; from urban areas in the city of Heerlen in the Netherlands, to the sparsely populated Highlands and Islands of Scotland.
The visit is organised by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and will give the European delegates a flavour of the region’s social enterprises including Velocity Café and Blindcraft in Inverness on Tuesday. The group will head to Falls of Shin in Lairg, Sutherland on the Wednesday and will meet representatives of Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust and take part in a Social Enterprise Academy workshop. On Thursday, they will take part in SuNSE’s fifth project steering group meeting at An Lòchran, Inverness Campus.
SuNSE project delegates hail from Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Ireland, France, Wales and England and in Scotland it is being led by HIE.
Helen Lavery, senior project manager at HIE, said: “We are delighted to host the European delegation and look forward to showing them some our region’s social enterprises. We will discuss key challenges and opportunities that social businesses can offer from creating jobs to uniting communities. The visit gives us a great opportunity to hear about other countries’ experiences.”
As part of the SuNSE project, a new programme of support known as the Start-Up School has launched across the Highlands and Islands for people with a business idea that will benefit their local community or environment. The innovative programme will be delivering four locally focused initiatives. The first, in Sutherland, is open for applications and others will be in the Outer Hebrides, Wester and Easter Ross. This support is also being developed across Europe and will help ambitious individuals to establish locally-based social businesses.
Helen continued: “Having previously met with the SuNSE partners, we are confident that sharing the excellent best practice we’ve all undertaken in this area is going to help up continue to provide a dynamic environment for social enterprises to thrive and prosper.”
Related Articles
£1.3m investment approved by HIE in the Outer Hebrides 2023/24
As a result of HIE support, businesses in the area will see total turnover rise by £14.5m and international sales by £1.9m.
New director of area operations
Joanna Peteranna took up the role on 1 July.
£1.5m investment approved by HIE in Shetland in 2023-24
Figures show HIE approved £1.5m investment across 18 Shetland projects in 2023-24
Over 1,200 jobs supported by HIE in 2023/24
Figures compiled by HIE show that businesses and communities supported by the agency in 2023/24 are set to create or retain more than 1,200 jobs across the region.
HIE empowers graduates to drive economic growth
Six talented young people working at HIE over the past two years have secured permanent positions, bringing fresh perspectives and valuable skills to HIE’s economic and community development efforts.
North mill project a ‘great example’ of how to attract funding into region
£250k helped leverage a further £3.6m in national investment
Two new HIE Board members appointed
Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, has approved three-year terms as non-executive directors for Allan Clow and Melanie Collett.
Enterprise agencies welcome Sumitomo milestone as ground is broken on £350m factory project
Enterprise agencies welcome Sumitomo milestone as ground is broken on £350m factory project
Why childcare is important to regional development
Event in Portree on Saturday 27 April to encourage more people into the profession
Hyundai MoU could benefit Highlands and Islands
The signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Scotland’s enterprise agencies and the world’s largest shipbuilding company could bring economic benefits for the Highlands and Islands.