Adele Blakebrough is the co-founder and CEO of Social Business Trust. Prior to setting up Social Business Trust, Adele was the co-founder and Chief Executive of CAN, one of the UK’s leading organisations for the development and promotion of social entrepreneurs.
Adele was also the CEO of the nationally renowned Kaleidoscope project in Kingston-Upon-Thames, a voluntary organisation working with 350 heroin users daily. In 2005, Adele was awarded the prestigious BITC Sieff Award for engaging business for social benefit and in 2006 she was made an MBE for services to social enterprises. She is a member of Nesta’s Centre for Social Action Innovation advisory board and a non-executive board member of Impact International – a leadership training organisation.
Social Business Trust was formed in December 2010. Since then it has invested in eleven social enterprises. The aims of the Trust include positively affecting the lives of one million people in the UK.
Adele Blakebrough, chief executive, outlined the Trust’s mission on inception as: “We at the Trust will look at a social enterprise and assess the obstacles to growth it faces and establish the best possible support from our partners. We will then manage the investment and relationship between the social enterprise we are supporting and our corporate partner organisations.
We believe that there has never been a more important time for social enterprises to exist and to thrive. But they will only do so if they have a robust business model and a desire to grow. By working with us, we can help them achieve their ambitions and, thereby, help many more of the UK’s most disadvantaged people.”
The Social Business Trust investment portfolio is comprised of eleven of the UK’s most exciting social enterprises:
Bikeworks
Challenge Partners
Fashion Enter
Inspiring Futures Foundation
London Early Years Foundation
Moneyline
The Challenge Network
The Reader Organisation
Timewise
Shakespeare Schools Festival
Young Advisors