A new project will be introduced in order to raise awareness regarding social enterprises, Minister for Energy and Enterprise Miriam Dalli told Parliament on Monday.

Parliament is currently debating a Bill to regulate social enterprise organisations, establish the Regulator and the Register for Social Enterprise Organisations and provide for a framework for benefits to be enjoyed by such social enterprise organisations.

Malta Enterprise will introduce this new project this year. The project, which is co-financed by the EU, “will create an eco-system for social enterprises after Covid-19”, Dalli said.

She remarked that there are other stakeholders from different countries as well, including Estonia and Ireland. 

This has four goals, Dalli said: To understand social enterprises better; to identify the best relevant stakeholders; local groups which assists these groups post-covid and; for these social enterprises to show their own potential.

“We want to reach three goals: To raise awareness, to make the system better, and to have an evaluation of how Covid-19 affected these enterprises.”

Social enterprises will be able to benefit from funds, and these enterprises will not be governed by the government, Dalli remarked.

“We believe that with social enterprises we can increase inclusive growth. We want to show faith towards their operation, these which work directly with our community.

The Bill in question also caters for variations in special laws relating to companies, partnerships and co-operatives so as to reflect the principles of the Act and seeks to reflect into Maltese law the principles provided for in the European Union Commission Regulation No. 651/2014 of 17th June 2014.