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Social Business Wales Award Finalists 2025 Announced

1 September 2025

Six weeks of publicity and a new online awards platform attracted an unprecedented 101 entries to the Social Business Wales Awards 2025.

Director of Enterprise at Cwmpas, Glenn Bowen, said:

“The quality and quantity of entries to this year’s Awards demonstrates the depth, breadth, and diversity of the social enterprise sector in Wales, and has left me excited and optimistic about the future of our communities.”

We’re delighted to present the full list of this year’s finalists.

Category 1, the One to Watch Award, is for innovative start-ups which are making a mark in their first two years.

Caerphilly-based finalist Our Voice Our Journey supports young people aged 11–25, especially those navigating violence, inequality, or marginalisation. They also support teachers, youth workers, police, and safeguarding leads to navigate the tricky topics of gender, violence, and youth wellbeing. Their focus is on breaking the cycle of harm and creating spaces for healing, growth and youth-led innovation.

Cegin y Bobl, based in Llanarthney, Carmarthenshire, exists to transform lives through food, boosting health, wellbeing and environmental sustainability. They work with people of all ages, passing on the skills, confidence, and knowledge to cook nutritious, affordable meals and achieve better health outcomes, while also reducing food insecurity, and building stronger, more connected communities.

Greenspace SOS in Coity, Bridgend has to date provided free garden rescue and improvement services to over 300 households and vulnerable people plus 150 volunteers, creating safe, welcoming spaces that support wellbeing and boost mental health, family life, and overall pride in homes and neighbourhoods. Greenspace SOS shows what is possible when grassroots action meets professional delivery.

Impact Wellbeing Solutions Ltd in Port Talbot delivers school workshops which focus on problem-solving and team-building, strengthening connections and empowering individuals to thrive as part of a resilient community. Committed to creating opportunities for shared learning, mutual support, and collective growth, they also offer personalised coaching and mentoring to boost self-esteem, self-awareness and emotional resilience, uncover strengths, and move towards positive change.

Category 2, Social Enterprise Innovation of the Year, sponsored by Atkins Realis, is for businesses which have used innovative approaches, models, or products to bring something fresh, new and exciting to the market, aimed at tackling social or environmental issues.

Cardiff-based finalist Holistic Hoarding was founded in response to a critical gap in support services for individuals struggling with hoarding behaviours – particularly those facing eviction and social isolation due to complex mental health and trauma-related issues. They work directly with individuals and families affected by hoarding, as well as organisations like the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Mothers Matter, based in Tonypandy, has supported more than 3000 women, men and their families through trauma-informed care since 2020, offering support from conception, pregnancy, post-natal and up till a child reaches 5 years old, including the sensitive topic of baby loss. Through counselling, home support, wellbeing hubs, education, and advocacy, they challenge stigma and make sure that no parent or family is left to struggle alone.

Tanio, a community arts charity, developed the Connecting Carers project offering weekly wellbeing workshops for unpaid carers across Bridgend County Borough. The workshops offered an outlet to talk about good days and bad, and build confidence in ways to express themselves through art, poetry, and song, enabling the unpaid carers to speak up for their wants and needs. The project culminated in the release of an original song, ‘Who Cares?’, which spoke movingly of the difficulties experienced, and called for better care and support for loved ones and themselves.

Category 3, Prove it: the Social Impact Award is for social enterprises which can demonstrate their social impact through clear data, stories and outcomes linked to their mission.

The Baxter Project, part of Therapeutic Activities Group CIC, is built on the idea that trust and enjoyment are the gateway to change. They pair specially trained practitioners with dogs to deliver non-authoritative, trauma-informed sessions in schools in Cardiff and Wrexham. They’re fun, warm, and disarming – and that’s the point. Once a child feels safe and seen the Baxter Project gently addresses underlying issues.

Elite Clothing Solutions (ECS) in Pontyclun was launched under the Welsh Government’s ‘Better jobs, closer to home’ initiative, supporting sectors providing everyday goods and services. They manufacture and brand high-quality workwear, including corporate uniforms and PPE. Over 45% of the workforce is disabled or disadvantaged, including individuals with long-term unemployment histories, learning disabilities/difficulties, mental health challenges, physical or sensory disability, or neurodivergence. ECS is proudly stitching sustainability, opportunity, and pride back into the fabric of Welsh industry.

Down to Earth, based in Swansea, is tackling some of the biggest environmental and social challenges of our time – concurrently – through co-designing and co-creating homes, schools and hospitals using only nature-centred design and materials. Over the last 12 months they’ve worked with more than 1800 participants from at risk and marginalised or disadvantaged backgrounds. The impact is transformational on both people and the natural environment.

Role Play Lane in Pontypridd provides role play sessions, birthday parties, school trips, community hire, and a welcoming café space for families – especially those with Additional Learning Needs (ALN), those experiencing poverty, and those facing social isolation.

Category 4, Environmental Social Enterprise of the Year, celebrates businesses whose core mission tackles environmental issues.

Groundwork North Wales in Wrexham boosts social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being and transforms lives in disadvantaged communities through accredited training courses and programmes, focusing on the outdoors and practical activity. They also encourage communities to protect the natural environment and support people to reuse, recycle, and repair household items.

Datblygiadau Egni Gwledig (DEG), based in Caernarfon, has a deep commitment to environmental issues, social justice and a mutually owned, democratic, and decentralised economy that benefits communities while protecting natural resources in North West Wales. They focus on community-driven projects that reduce energy use and costs, and decrease reliance on fossil fuels, supporting communities to use energy more efficiently and reinvest profits.

Groundwork Wales in Blackwood works across some of the most disadvantaged communities in South Wales to alleviate poverty and conserve local environments by building skills, improving job prospects and preparing individuals for employment, redesigning neglected open spaces, and diverting waste from landfill through their furniture and electrical reuse shop.

Category 5, Social Enterprise building Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Justice, sponsored by the Co-op, is for businesses who are actively championing social justice and equality.

Cardiff-based More Than Flags and Rainbows (MTFAR) was set up by a former deputy headteacher who experienced homophobic bullying both as a pupil and later as a teacher. MTFAR works with schools across Wales and beyond to build inclusive cultures, tackle bullying, improve RSE, and usualise diversity across the curriculum. They have supported over 200 schools and worked with more than 4,000 educators and young people since their launch in 2024.

The founder of Denbighshire-based The Tax Academy, a former Chartered Accountant, went to prison in Oct 2013 for four months. He realised that individuals entering prison needed support with their tax affairs. When prisoners leave prison with their tax affairs in order, and a better understanding of the taxation system, they have a better chance of re-integration into society. Over the last 10 years, the Tax Academy has handled more than 8,000 tax cases.

Assadaqaat Community Finance (ACF) in Cardiff provides interest-free finance, tailored business support, training, and mentorship to those who are traditionally excluded from mainstream finance, including women, young people, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. At the heart of ACF’s mission is a unique circular finance model: beneficiaries are encouraged to become future benefactors, creating a sustainable cycle of shared prosperity and community investment.

Social enterprises are much more likely to be run and led by women than traditional businesses, and Category 6, Social Enterprise Women’s Champion of the Year, aims to celebrate female leadership, advocacy, and impact.

Helen Davies is the founder of Sunflower Lounge in Neath, which nurtures care experienced young people, care leavers and young people estranged from their families. Helen realised that understanding and support were missing for young people who had often been abused, neglected, and traumatised. She has created a space and support system where their needs are central, and where they are supported to live their best lives.

Hannah Evans is director of Qualia Law, which specialises in property and financial affairs under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, supporting the most vulnerable people – those who lack mental capacity and have no one else able or willing to help them. Qualia Law’s support directly prevents financial abuse, improves health and wellbeing, and protects autonomy.

Kelly Farr leads the Female Veterans’ Alliance, which delivers residential wellbeing retreats and workshops offering support to over 200 women who served in the UK Armed Forces. These address critical issues such as military sexual trauma, identity loss, mental health, and isolation, offering not only healing, but empowerment, connection, and advocacy. Kelly’s work has driven conversations about the need for a dedicated female peer mentor role to provide support to the 15,970 registered female veterans in Wales.

Category 7, Community-based Social Enterprise of the Year, sponsored by UWTSD, is for enterprises deeply rooted in communities which deliver high local impact.

The Fern Partnership is rooted in the belief that every child, every family, and every community deserves the chance to thrive. The Partnership manages six childcare facilities located in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the Rhondda and Cynon Valleys. There, children are given the very best start in life, not just through education and play, but by creating a safe, nurturing space where confidence blooms. The Fern Partnership has also breathed new life into two once-disused community buildings in Ferndale and Maerdy. More than bricks and mortar, they’re places where people connect, learn, and feel supported.

Menter y Plu runs Y Plu, the historic village pub in Llanystumdwy, Gwynedd, combining heritage, cultural life, and economic resilience to serve the local community. They also run Capel Bach, now used as holiday accommodation to generate income, a small village shop which stocks local produce and everyday essentials to improve rural access and support local suppliers, and a community allotment, where volunteers grow seasonal produce.

Choirs For Good runs 12 community choirs across Wales which improve mental and physical wellbeing and boost lifelong learning and connection through the power of group singing. They perform everywhere from care homes and local fêtes to conferences and fundraising galas, raising over £40,000 to date for their charity of the year, and reducing loneliness and isolation for members, many of whom live with long-term health conditions.

Elysium Gallery runs a programme of free workshops for low-income families and culturally marginalised communities in Swansea attracting over 25,000 visitors a year. From a ‘pop-up’ art gallery temporarily inhabiting Swansea’s many empty retail units, neurodivergent-led Elysium has grown into Wales largest artist’s studio provider currently looking after 100+ artists across five buildings in Swansea City centre, alongside three exhibition spaces, a live music/performance venue and community workshop/education spaces.

Category 8, the Social Enterprise of the Year Award, sponsored by Transport for Wales, celebrates 2025’s highest-performing social enterprises which demonstrate strong growth, sustainability, social impact, and leadership in their field.

Platfform has run mental health and community services for over 35yrs, and has a portfolio of over 140 projects based mainly across South Wales. Secure housing, financial stability, community resources, green spaces, meaningful opportunities, and psychologically safe workplaces are all seen as mental health interventions, while an over-riding principle is avoiding the medicalisation of injustice and distress, and making sure individuals don’t have to shoulder the burden, blame, and shame of societal problems.

Established in 1985, GISDA provides tailored, person-centred support and accommodation for homeless young people in Gwynedd. Services include a young parents project, a mental health and wellbeing project, a care leavers project, and an LGBTQ+ project, which celebrates diversity, promotes inclusivity, raises awareness, and provides weekly support and activities. GISDA is led by young people, for young people. 

Down to Earth and The Fern Partnership are also finalists in the Social Enterprise of the year category.

Glenn Bowen continued:

“These brilliant finalists are proof that social enterprises across Wales are keeping the circular economy moving where it should be, close to home, at the same time as creating jobs, raising a profitable income, and driving commerce from the bottom up across a network of local suppliers, buyers, partners and customers.

“The Social Business Wales Awards is the perfect time to embrace and promote these forward-thinking, problem-solving businesses that sit at the heart of our communities. Any one of these fantastic finalists could win. I look forward to cheering them all at the Awards ceremony.”

The Social Business Wales Conference and Awards will take place at Maesteg Town Hall on October 9, hosted by former BBC News presenter Sian Lloyd, who will announce the winners.