The report from SIS is the result of in-depth research amongst 150 customers comprising social enterprises, charities and community organisations to measure the impact of investment on their social and economic goals.

In total, 2.1 million people have felt the benefit of SIS’s social investment since 2016, underlining the continued growth in demand for social investment from Scotland’s social enterprises, charities and community organisations.

SIS said it has made 43 investments during the year across 31 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, while the impact of these has been felt right across all 32 regions.

Significantly, SIS has increased its reach to those living in Scotland’s most deprived areas (as classified by SIMD). More than a third (37%) of those benefiting from SIS loans live in geographic areas suffering from poverty, equating to nearly half a million people. Crucially, 16% of beneficiaries live in the 0-5% most deprived areas in Scotland.

SIS activity has also had a vital impact on the jobs sector. Over the past year alone, SIS customers have created 405 full-time equivalent jobs, sustained more than 3,522 jobs and generated £158m in turnover, up £2m from the year before.

According to the report, the impact of these services is being felt where it is needed most - 65% are children, young people and families, 43% are those experiencing long term unemployment, 43% are people with mental health needs, and 15% are homeless.

Social Investment Scotland’s chief executive, Alastair Davis, said: “We want to enable organisations to be a sustainable force for good and our annual reports are a way for us to measure how well we’re supporting our customers.

“We are pleased to see that our impact is being felt right across Scotland and most importantly that over a third of beneficiaries are those in the most deprived areas. We’re also delighted to report that 50% of our loans are under £50,000, which reflects our commitment to organisations who need smaller loans to achieve their next steps.”