Audrey Mutongi started her business in June 2015. Her social enterprise, Be-Friend, is a befriending service for older people in West Dunbartonshire. After receiving support from the Ditto programme, she has gone from strength to strength. She has just moved into her first office and is launching a new series of events in May. 

8 social entrepreneurs from all over Scotland have just been awarded a total of almost £20,000. The awards were delivered to help the awardees pilot their business ideas.

Susan Aktemel of Homes for Good was named Social Microentrepreneur of the Year in 2016 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards.

Takeaway Creative, a new service allowing Argyll residents to enjoy creative activities in their own home is due to launch in March.

Fiona Page is one of the entrepreneurs who is part of the Vital Spark programme. She has been working on her business Takeaway Creative since November 2015 and is now ready to launch.

As the Vital Spark programme is opening for applications again, we talked to Fiona to find out more about her journey as an entrepreneur, her experience of Vital Spark and advice that she wants to give new applicants.

Inverness Kart Raceway (IKR), a state of the art indoor racing arena that supports young people onto work, is ready to welcome the next generation of Formula One drivers and speed enthusiasts alike.

Start Up Europe Week is being coined as ‘the biggest entrepreneurship event ever to take place in Europe’ with over 200 events taking place over the continent and Jamie from Social Media Alba is making sure Glasgow gets put on the entrepreneur map.

Gregory Chauvet, owner of the Glasgow Bike Station finished 2015 on a high. He was awarded Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2015 at the Herald Society Awards last November.

I talked to Gregory to find out more about his journey as an entrepreneur, how he felt about his fantastic achievement and what advice he would like to share with budding entrepreneurs in 2016.

Scottish businesses must be motivated by more than the financial bottom line if they are to help build a fairer and greener Scotland.

That’s the conclusion of Better Business, a ground-breaking study published today (Tuesday 19 January) into responsible business practices in Scotland.

Four Scottish social entrepreneurs have shared a total of £80,000 funding after receiving awards from Firstport, Scotland’s start up social enterprise development agency.

Breadshare, a community bakery in Edinburgh has landed investment to franchise its model across Scotland. The investment, made by former SSE Chief Executive Ian Marchant, has secured Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) and was facilitated by social enterprise start up agency Firstport.

The launch of the first ever census of social enterprises has demonstrated a thriving and growing business community.

Locavore, a social enterprise which exists to help build a more sustainable local food economy, has launched their Big Plan.

A new study is being launched to discover if businesses are doing their bit to help create a fairer Scotland.

Firstport, in partnership with InspirAlba, is developing Vital Spark, an exciting new social enterprise initiative for Argyll and Bute. The Vital Spark programme will be working in Dunoon, Rothesay and Campbeltown to stimulate and support people from the local areas to turn their social enterprise ideas into reality.

Read our strategy document Start Small, Aim High: Firstport 4 aims in 4 years to find out about our ambitious plans. 

Deputy First Minister John Swinney praised the contribution of social enterprise to the Scottish economy as the entrepreneurs chosen for innovative accelerator programme LaunchMe 2015 were revealed at a recent event in Edinburgh.

By Iain Edwards

Hands up, leadership is one of my favorite topics. It’s vast, it’s polarizing and a subject I’m deeply passionate about. 

Scotland’s social enterprise development agency, Firstport, is celebrating a £200,000 funding boost from Resilient Scotland to continue its social replication programme, Ditto. The funding will enable Firstport to roll out Ditto to 13 local authority areas* and will play a vital role in creating employment by promoting a low-risk route to starting a social enterprise.

Over £80,000 has been awarded to social entrepreneurs today by Firstport, Scotland’s development agency for start-up social enterprise.

A social enterprise has opened for business in Craigmillar in a bid to bring contract manufacturing back to Edinburgh and create much-needed jobs. 

Looking at the growth of the social enterprise model featuring Firstport and socially driven courier company Delivered Next Day Personally (DNDP)