Skip to main content

Social Enterprise Supports

We offer support to people and local groups that want to explore setting up a Social Enterprise.

What is Social Enterprise?

A social enterprise is a business that is set up to achieve a social benefit rather than a profit for its owners or shareholders. This is sometimes called a ‘Profit for Purpose Business’. All profits made are invested back into the business and its social objective.

Well known Waterford based Social Enterprises:

Social Enterprise Supports contact:

Social Enterprise Supports from Buion:

  • Initial 1:1 meeting to discuss your social enterprise idea
  • Follow up meetings to support business planning
  • Social Enterprise Fundamentals Training (Social Foundry Programme)
  • Follow on mentoring
  • Links to other supports
  • Peer networking: Waterford Social Enterprise Network brings together people and groups that have or are developing a social enterprise to build shared learning and support.

Case Studies:

SICAP 2023 Case Study – The People’s Transition: Larchville & Lisduggan, Waterford City, Ireland.
SICAP 2025 Case Study – Delivering English Language Classes

Social Foundry Participants 2025:

The Social Foundry is a programme for people to learn more about setting up a social enterprise and is co-delivered with Waterford Local Enterprise Office and The Entrepreneurs Academy.
“Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled”
“Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled”
Sessions were rated on average 9.7/10 over the course of the programme and the feedback from participants was excellent.

Resources & Essential links:

Link to Resource 01
Staff Portal
Registered Charity Number (RCN): 20035228
Buíon Phort Láirge is a registered trading name of Waterford Area Partnership CLG,
Limited by Guarantee under Company Registration No. 242806
© Copyright 2026 Buíon.ie All Rights Reserved.
Created by TrueOutput.