Trading Through Covid-19: Investment Stories from Women Directing Social Enterprises in the North East of England

Trading Through Covid-19: Investment Stories from Women Directing Social Enterprises in the North East of England

/ Diversity, Learning Resource

As part of their Connect Fund grant, New Leaf New Life CIC convened a cohort of social enterprise leaders from across Newcastle and Sunderland that had secured social investment for the first time prior to Covid-19 and have since been trying to deliver vital services in disadvantaged communities. They participated in a series of action learning sessions to share challenges, create solutions and gain new insights into the impact of Covid-19 on their own organisation and others.

The final report from the project sheds light on the lived experience of eleven community based social enterprises, led by women, who survived the immediate impact of Covid-19 and have now started the recovery phase of ‘Building Back Better’. The report is a collection of narratives from social entrepreneurs who lived through Covid-19 in a personal and professional capacity. It is their accounts of what happened, how they responded and their plans for the future. 

The report also makes a number of suggestions of how best to support social entrepreneurs in a post Covid-19 world. You can read the full report here.