Social enterprise is viewed by some minority groups as a predominantly white very middle class affair but a conference in Luton last month sought to break down those misconceptions and show that social entrepreneurialism is actually growing amongst the UK’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities (BAME).

There are at least 55,000 social enterprises in the UK and a series of surveys (2004/2005) by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor at London Business School, found that social entrepreneurial activity for women from mixed backgrounds is two and a half times higher than amongst white females, with 10.2 per cent and 3.6 percent of the respective groups involved in social enterprise.

Amongst Bangladeshi women this percentage rises to 10.9, while other Asian communities and Black Caribbeans show activity rates of 10.3 and 10.5 per cent respectively - all higher than the percentage of the white population who play a role in social enterprises.

During a one-day conference held at the Auction House in Luton last month people from diverse enthic and religious backgrounds spoke of how they are dedicated to tackling poverty and injustice in their communities and how social enterprise has a role to play in regenerating neighbourhoods and increasing community cohesion.

Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa, the founder of Catch 22 magazine, a publication which helps young people who would never usually have the chance to develop their talents, find work in the highly competitive world of media , spoke of how his organisation works in situations where crime, poverty and unemployment are ingrained.

Ajasa-Oluwa who delivered a polished presentation to a receptive crowd described how social enterprise is so important right now particularly as the recession increases to bite.

“The concept for my social enterprise was simple. I wanted to champion young media talent that couldn’t get experience elsewhere. Being quite a meticulous individual, I embarked on a two-year journey of developing Catch 22,” he said.

“The outcome is a dynamic triangular model, consisting of a magazine training academy, a commercial magazine and a communications agency.

“In the current climate, I see being a social enterprise as a real challenge because an incorrect perception is quite often formed. We are usually pigeon-holed as loony liberals that have lost all sense of reality and often we are not even seen as real businesses.

“For me, being a social enterprise is definitely about real business. However, I see it as being about real business with integrity. Because we’re competing against those in a hard-nosed corporate world, it is so important for social enterprises to have a strong business case.”

Ajasa-Oluwa added that there are opportunities in BAME communities, and in all communities, to make a real difference.

“The time is ripe for people with great ideas to use business to make a lasting difference to society and the environment," he said.

At the other end of the spectrum Jim Brown, a principal consultant with Baker Brown Associates, deals with equity investment in social enterprise and has a real enthusiasm for the sector. When asked how social enterprises differ from the private sector in providing services, he explained that ethical investors are prepared to accept lower financial returns when these are blended with social value, in the same way that ethical consumers are willing to pay a higher price for fair trade products.

“Ethical investors have already invested more than £50 million in UK social enterprises, two-thirds in the last five years. It is to them, rather than the City, that government should turn,” he said.

Saundra Glenn, a director of Bedfordshire Social Enterprise Network, is looking to break down the barriers preventing ethnic minorities getting involved in social enterprises.

Glenn described how building community cohesion is at the heart of the social enterprise agenda, especially in towns as culturally diverse as Luton.

"I'm born and bred in Luton, so I'm very passionate about it. We are desperately trying to flag up awareness about this. For years I've worked on projects and looked at raising the glass ceiling.

"There is a lack of awareness of the need to engage BAME groups. It's amazing, but it happens all the time. Our number one focus is to get it addressed."

Social enterprises are striving to deliver real services to their communities, but whether this is a replacement for well-funded public services remains to be seen a conversation overheard during the lunch break sums up the sincerity of those involved. “My company was founded to make people happy,” one delegate said and you can’t get a better recommendation than that.