| SE strategy / action plan 1.2.1 S10S20S30S40S50 Criteria and evidence- S1 · Status: 0 (none)
No national social economy strategy or action plan, and no official announcement of drafting, was found: the EC Gateway and the OECD fact sheet name only the Social Enterprise Act, and the 2015 Social Enterprise Act White Paper was a legislative consultation, not a strategy; in July 2026 the Act itself was still not in force: 'none'. · source 1 - S2 · Dedication: 0 (SE absent from adopted national strategies)
No adopted national strategy mentioning SE was found (the National Strategy against Poverty and Social Exclusion 2025-2035 was a consultation draft and does not mention social enterprise): 'SE absent from adopted national strategies'. Other broader strategies not checked. · source 1 · low confidence - S3 · Operational content: 0 (no adopted instrument)
No instrument (S1 = 0): 'no adopted instrument'. · source 1 - S4 · Monitoring: 0 (none)
No instrument to monitor: 'none'. · source 1 - S5 · Participation of SE organisations: 0 (no evidence)
No instrument, hence 'no evidence'. · source 1
| 0.0 |
| Institutional structure & dialogue 1.2.2 I133I267I30I40 Criteria and evidence- I1 · Lead responsibility: 33 (SE handled informally or split, no lead named in any official text)
OECD: four ministries (Economy; Social Policy; Inclusion and Voluntary Organisations; Environment, Energy and Enterprise) share SSE responsibility; the Regulator foreseen by the Social Enterprise Act is not set up because the Act is not in force (still not in force in July 2026). A Social Enterprise Unit within FSWS existed in 2020 (EC/Euricse), but the Gateway lists the family ministry/FSWS role only 'until 2022' and no current unit was found: 'SE handled informally or split, no lead named in any official text'. · source 1 · low confidence - I2 · Breadth of mandate: 67 (several types (e.g. cooperatives and mutuals))
Operating mandates cover separate types: the Cooperatives Board (cooperatives) and the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations (voluntary organisations); no body holds the SE-wide mandate of the Act: 'several types'. · source 1 - I3 · Consultative body with SE organisations: 0 (none, or only in a draft)
No government consultative body with SE organisations exists (OECD: stakeholder engagement 'Not available'; the Act's 2015 White Paper names none; WISE consultation meetings are NGO-run): 'none'. · source 1 - I4 · Inter-ministerial coordination: 0 (none)
OECD names four ministries without describing any coordination mechanism: 'none'. · source 1
| 25.0 |
| Social clauses in public procurement 2.3.2 P167P233P30P433 Criteria and evidence- P1 · Legal basis: 67 (contracts reservable for a subset (sheltered workshops, WISE, disadvantaged workers; Directive 2014/24 Art. 20) or preferences for cooperatives/SMEs that include SE)
The Public Procurement Regulations (L.N. 352 of 2016) provide for 'contracts reserved to particular classes of economic operators' (FAOLEX summary), i.e. the Directive Art. 20 reservation for sheltered workshops and integration operators; whether Art. 77 (reserved contracts for certain services) was transposed could not be checked (regulation text not opened): 'contracts reservable for a subset'. If Art. 77 is transposed, the level is 100. · source 1 - P2 · National policy push: 33 (general guidance mentioning social considerations)
Kept: only general awareness material on socially responsible procurement (Local Councils' Association) is reported; no national SRPP plan found; source not opened: 'general guidance mentioning social considerations'. Unverified. · source 1 · low confidence - P3 · Evidence of use: 0 (none)
No national figures or cases on social clauses or reserved contracts were found (OECD fact sheet and Gateway silent): 'none'. Unverified. · source 1 · low confidence - P4 · Capacity support: 33 (donor- or project-based training only)
SRPP training for public purchasers and social economy enterprises was run on 18 Nov 2024 by AEIDL and the Local Councils' Association for the European Commission under service contract EISMEA/2022/OP/0014 (also an EU Academy course 'Boosting SRPP: Malta', 2024); no government programme found: 'donor- or project-based training only'. · source 1
| 33.3 |
| Official SE definition 3.1 D1100D267 Criteria and evidence- D1 · Where defined: 100 (in law)
The Social Enterprise Act (Cap. 630, Act IX of 2022, published 22 Feb 2022) is enacted but 'Not In Force'; as an adopted law it counts as 'in law' (status gap noted in 3.2.1). · source 1 - D2 · Content (social aim; participatory governance; limits on profit distribution): 67 (two)
Under Act IX of 2022 a social enterprise organisation must trade principally for a social purpose (or integrate disabled/disadvantaged workers) and may distribute only 25% of profits over three years (Ganado 2022); the Act and Bill 179 (2026) require 'accountability and transparency' of administrators but no democratic or participatory governance: social aim and profit limit, 'two'. · source 1
| 83.3 |
Legal recognition of SEs 3.2.1 · level 1 of 3Social Enterprise Act (Cap. 630; Act IX of 2022) · sources 1 2 3 4 5L167L2100L30L40L50 Criteria and evidence- L1 · Adoption stage: 67 (enacted, not in force)
- L2 · Scope: 100 (general: SE broadly, including a status open to several legal forms or any purpose)
- L3 · Implementing rules: 0 (none adopted, or law not in force)
Act not brought into force by 31 Dec 2025; no subsidiary legislation under Cap. 630 identified. - L4 · Status or register: 0 (foreseen with no entity recognised, or law not in force)
Registration of social enterprise organisations (companies, partnerships, cooperatives) with the Regulator foreseen; no registrations possible while the Act is not in force. - L5 · Bodies foreseen by the law: 0 (foreseen, not set up, or law not in force)
Regulator of Social Enterprise Organisations foreseen; not set up.
| 33.3 |
| SE support ecosystem 4.3.6 E133E233E333E433E533 Criteria and evidence- E1 · National programme: 33 (project-based only (donor, EU or NGO projects without government lead))
No SE support programme: support comes from the university incubator Take Off, MCVS capacity building for voluntary organisations, MCAST (not SE-focused) and ESF+-funded training: 'project-based only'. · source 1 - E2 · Territorial coverage: 33 (capital or one region)
The providers listed (Take Off at the University of Malta, MCAST, MCVS) are based on the main island; no network: 'capital or one region'. · source 1 - E3 · Public funding of support: 33 (mainly donor or EU funded)
SE-specific support is the ESF+ earmark (training, mentoring, coaching) or university/private provision: 'mainly donor or EU funded'. · source 1 - E4 · Continuity: 33 (under two years)
No continuously operating SE support programme could be dated in the sources opened: 'under two years'. Thin evidence. · source 1 · low confidence - E5 · Range of services: 33 (one)
The only SE-relevant service documented is incubation (Take Off, which also supports community projects); MCAST's registration and market-access services are not SE-specific: 'one'. · source 1
| 33.3 |
| EU funds mobilised for SE 5.1.1 F1100F20F367F40 Criteria and evidence- F1 · Programming: 100 (a dedicated SE measure or priority with an allocated budget)
Within the ESF+ 2021-2027 programme for Malta 'EUR 0.6 million are earmarked to support the development of social economy and social enterprises': 'a dedicated SE measure or priority with an allocated budget'. · source 1 - F2 · Calls and instruments: 0 (none)
No ESF+ call implementing the EUR 0.6m social economy earmark was found by 31 Dec 2025 (the 2024 information session covered calls under SO 4.8 and 4.11 only): 'none'. · source 1 · low confidence - F3 · Channel: 67 (government as co-partner)
The earmark sits in the nationally managed ESF+ programme, without a national SE policy in force to implement: 'government as co-partner'. Thin evidence (no call found). · source 1 · low confidence - F4 · Evidence of take-up: 0 (none)
No evidence of SE beneficiaries: 'none'. · source 1 · low confidence
| 41.7 |
| Dedicated national funding 5.2.2 N167N233N3100N467 Criteria and evidence- N1 · Dedicated line: 67 (dedicated line for one type (e.g. WISE subsidies, a cooperatives fund))
The Central Co-operative Fund, a statutory national fund under art. 91 of the Co-operative Societies Act managed by a committee mostly appointed by the Minister, finances co-operatives (Baldacchino et al. 2022); the Gateway notes 'there is no dedicated funding for social enterprises': 'dedicated line for one type (e.g. ... a cooperatives fund)'. · source 1 - N2 · Instrument types: 33 (one type)
The Fund offers start-up, website and training grants and an interest-subsidy scheme (a grant-type support); no loans, guarantees or equity: 'one type'. · source 1 - N3 · Continuity: 100 (five years or more)
The Fund dates from the 1978 Act and was continued by the 2001 Act, with yearly contributions (5% of co-operatives' surplus) and distributions reported for 2012-2019: 'five years or more'. · source 1 - N4 · Execution: 67 (disbursement reported (awards announced, beneficiaries named))
Distributions to co-operatives are reported (3-4% of redirected contributions in 2012-2016, 1% in 2017-2019; grants of about EUR 1,000); no 2024-2025 figures found: 'disbursement reported'. · source 1
| 66.7 |
