LaunchMe Spring Cohort: Social Enterprises Gear Up for Impact
Meet the latest LaunchMe cohort. 10 new social enterprises getting ready for investment.
Firstport is thrilled to present the ten pioneering social enterprises selected for the Spring 2024 LaunchMe programme. This intensive journey will equip these enterprises with knowledge and resources to become investor-ready. The programme combines expert-led workshops, peer support, and bespoke 1-2-1 guidance.
This cohort includes diverse enterprises, ranging from affordable gyms with childcare to outdoor education programmes and support for community groups.
Introducing the LaunchMe Spring Cohort
Play Center: Empowering families in the Drumchapel community in Glasgow through social inclusion programmes, including youth clubs, employability programmes, mentoring, and after-school activities.
Hair Dreams: Facilitates training and natural hair care services and fosters community engagement in Glasgow. It does this entrusting stylists with afro and mixed-race hair texture training, creating employment opportunities within the hairdressing industry.
Axe Boom Boom: Combating childhood inactivity by teaching Capoeira & Djembe drumming. It offers free classes and programs for children belonging to underprivileged and minority communities in Edinburgh.
Smart Gym: Glasgow’s affordable and accessible gym with a creche. It inspires healthy lifestyles for families through exercise, well-being services, and intergenerational health practices.
The Ripple Project: A long-established Edinburgh-based charity that tackles social challenges by offering essential services and fostering community action for all ages in deprived areas.
Àban Outdoor: Scotland’s only independent DofE (Duke Of Edinburgh) Open Award group, offering free outdoor youth clubs and commercial activities like guiding, camps, and an outdoor gear charity shop.
Highland Yoga Collective: A Nairn-based yoga studio and social enterprise that provides inclusive yoga classes and reinvests profits in community well-being initiatives.
Visible Inclusive Accessibility: Works with Scotland-based organisations to improve accessibility for disabled people through workshops, training, consultancy support and recruitment projects.
BAVS: Supports and empowers Berwickshire’s grassroots community and voluntary groups with funding, guidance, and essential services like charity shops & transport. Their upcoming reuse hub promotes a culture of sustainability and collective action within the region.
Caledonian Wildlands: Aims to open access to green spaces and habitat restoration in communities impacted by industrial decline. They achieve this through creating new woodlands, rewilding efforts, and managing open grasslands and moorlands.
Over the coming months, these ambitious social enterprises will undergo a transformative journey, gaining invaluable expertise to scale their impact and confidently approach investors. Stay tuned as we follow their progress and celebrate their achievements!