Leading responsible finance provider, Social Investment Scotland (SIS) has maintained its strong impact momentum with £52.5 million in active loans and investments to social enterprises, charities, community groups, and mission-led businesses during the past year, according to its latest annual Impact Report.
Total active loans and investments for the year (April 2024 to March 2025) reached £52.5 million among 216 social enterprises, demonstrating continued growth in the sector as SIS marks the beginning of its 25th anniversary year.
Throughout the 12-month period, the lives of 6.1 million people were positively impacted through SIS investee activities, with organisations making an impact in key areas including employment and training, income and financial inclusion, and environmental conservation, all critical priorities for Scotland’s communities.
SIS investments throughout the year have contributed towards the sustainability of at least 6,300 full-time equivalent jobs and supported 39 employment, training and education initiatives, promoting personal, household and community economic stability.
Significantly, 36% of investees are based in areas within the 35% most deprived in Scotland, helping to channel vital resources into communities with the greatest potential for social and economic transformation. Meanwhile, 31% of investees operate in rural locations or on islands, reaching remote and underserved communities.
The report highlights SIS’s continued leadership in building Scotland’s impact economy through its three-pronged approach of investment, market-building, and wholly-owned subsidiary SIS Ventures.
Key initiatives included SIS playing a leading role in bringing together Lloyds Bank, Better Society Capital (BSC) and, more latterly, Triodos, alongside four CDFIs (BCRS Business Loans, Business Enterprise Fund, Finance For Enterprise and SWIG Finance) to create CIEF – a £72 million investment initiative aimed at supporting micro, small and medium-sized businesses in the most deprived areas across England and Wales. £28.3 million has already been deployed since the fund’s launch in Spring 2024.
SIS has also continued to lead the Financial Inclusion for Scotland (FIFS) group – a bold, cross-sector effort to address financial exclusion across the country.
As SIS enters the final five years of its ten year ‘Building an Impact Economy’ strategy, priorities include expanding access to fair and affordable finance through a proposed Community Capital Fund; driving innovation in childcare and nature-based financing to support families, climate resilience, and local employment; strengthening market-building efforts; and progressing policy change through the Financial Inclusion for Scotland group.
Alastair Davis, CEO of Social Investment Scotland, said: “As we begin our 25th anniversary year, this report demonstrates the enduring power of social investment to create meaningful change in communities across Scotland and beyond.
“Our investees continue to tackle Scotland’s most pressing challenges, from providing essential childcare services that enable parents to work, to developing environmental sustainability initiatives including renewable and conservation projects. The fact that over a third of our investments are in Scotland’s most deprived areas shows we’re successfully channelling resources where they’re needed most.
“This year has seen significant progress in our market-building efforts, particularly through our leadership of Financial Inclusion for Scotland and our work preparing nature-based projects for investment readiness. We’re not just providing finance, we’re helping to build the infrastructure for a fairer, more inclusive impact economy.”
Case Study: Community Circus Paisley
Community Circus Paisley, founded in 2021, has created a permanent, community-owned home for Scotland’s circus community with support from SIS funding. The organisation provides access to world-class training in circus arts, including Scotland’s only full-scale flying trapeze equipment.
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Using an Asset Based Community Development approach, Community Circus Paisley focuses on community strengths while providing funded places for young people and adults from the Ferguslie Park community, outreach for people with dementia, and additional support needs services in schools.
Shirley Alexander, Co-founder of Community Circus Paisley, said: “The funding has been instrumental because it allowed us to buy this building. Without it we would not have any of this at all. It’s not just the funding, but actually all the support we’ve had from SIS. It’s been incredible.”
The Social Investment Scotland 2025 Impact Report can be found online at https://www.socialinvestmentscotland.com/impact/impact-reports/
