Banská Bystrica Region

Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region (BBSGR) is the largest of eight regional municipalities of Slovakia. It has a population of approximately 660 thousand people, and it is divided into 13 districts. Five of them are listed among the lagging regions suffering from various challenges such as high level of unemployment, poor infrastructure, underdeveloped economy or high level of intergenerational poverty. Solutions of mentioned challenges may be offered also by social enterprises operating in a viable and enabling ecosystem.
Above the Act on social economy and social enterprises adopted on the national level in May 2018, the BBSGR decided to create regional measures that may support the region's growth of social entrepreneurship culture. Having social enterprises support included among the key priorities of the strategy for developing the Banska Bystrica region, the regional council also committed certain financial and human resources for this purpose.
Since 2018, the BBSGR established 3 social enterprises employing several dozens of people, launched free-of-charge advisory services for social enterprises from the region, advocated for a wider use of social- buying practices and introduced the regional brand, that offers also products/services delivered by social enterprises from the region.
During the first wave of COVID-19 crisis, BBSGR supported social enterprises from the region by increasing the purchase of their products as e.g. face masks.