South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) said it made significant investments of £13.7 million into business and community enterprises in the year from April 2023 to March 2024, and invested a further £5.7 million into 48 strategic projects “to help transform the region.”

In its annual report, SOSE said it worked with and supported 1,300 businesses, social enterprises and community groups in the financial year.

SOSE said that during the year, £19.2 million worth of funding was leveraged for the South of Scotland, 61 start-up workshops were delivered by Business Gateway Scottish Borders, one-to-one support was provided to 62 female and 24 youth-led businesses, and a £1 million Net Zero Accelerator Fund was launched.

SOSE CEO Jane Morrison-Ross said:  “SOSE continued to work hard to deliver on our goals and ambitions in 2023/24. Having launched in 2020 we are determined to make the South of Scotland a rural economic powerhouse and a fair, green and flourishing place for all.

“Measuring the impact of what we do is key and we now have a baseline set of data to be measured against. We are working to capture innovative measures on wellbeing and generational return alongside the harder data.

“As expected, 2024/25 is proving to be a challenging year for all of us but we are absolutely committed to delivering success for the economy, environment and communities in the South of Scotland.’”

SOSE chair Russel Griggs said: “While our accounts show the level of funding we provide, I am becoming increasingly convinced that a lot of our best help is coming in the form of advice, advocacy, expertise and focus on key infrastructure issues like housing.

“The expertise and knowledge we have through our staff is helping us to build lasting relationships with our communities and businesses.

“While a challenging time, every one of the SOSE team is committed to meeting the ambitions of the South – at the same time as continuing to help communities, businesses, social enterprises and all of the people of the South to thrive, grow and fulfil the potential we know the region has.”