RED or Dead design brand founder Wayne Hemmingway urged Hampshire’s army of social entrepreneurs to cash in on the “massive opportunities” available to them.

The maverick designer of everything from shirts to sheds was the star attraction at an event to highlight the county’s thriving social enterprise sector, which numbers 2,200 businesses, including 277 in Southampton.

Representatives of more than 100 organisations from the region turned out to the free event, called 3market, at Southampton University.

The first event of its kind, 3Market offered firms the chance to source ethical products and services from local Social Enterprises, which include everything from ethically sourced underwear to computer equipment retailing and disabled flying teaching.

A social enterprise is typically a business with a mission to benefit society that ploughs profits, known as surpluses, back into the company rather than paying dividends to shareholders.

The sector – currently 62,000 UK enterprises contributing £24 billion to the economy – is growing rapidly.

Wayne Hemmingway, who sold Red or Dead in 1999 and now runs Hemmingway Design from Chichester in West Sussex, said: “My message is you have got to get up and do it for yourself.

“There is so much opportunity out there at the moment it means that if you’ve got half a dose of intelligence and a work ethic there are massive possibilities. However we are being much slower about this than our continental counterparts. It is the same everywhere in the UK.

“If the right people get behind it, it is about to explode and it can really help communities small and large.

“There are 70 people here today and if just five or six of those go and make a difference then that’s not bad, is it?”

Deborah Wyatt, director of Business Link Hampshire, which helped organised the event, said: “Three to four per cent of businesses in the south east would identify themselves as a social enterprise.

It’s a growing sector and has been for five years. I think social enteprises tap into the mood of the nation and it is set to explode.”