Meet our Partners – Firstport

Business Gateway Edinburgh

Business Gateway Edinburgh works closely with Firstport to deliver the What If… North Edinburgh Programme which helps residents in North Edinburgh think about making a positive change in the area through enterprise.

Scotland Can B

Scotland Can B is a nationwide programme of its kind combining a nation’s vision to become a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship with a global movement to drive business as a force for good. Firstport and FirstImpact are strategic partners of this programme, helping to share the SCB impact journey.

Just Enterprise

Just Enterprise is the programme designed to help sustain, develop, and grow enterprises and enterprising charities in Scotland. Firstport co-delivers this programme with 10 other agencies.

Scotland Can Do

Scotland Can Do is Scotland’s national vision for a purpose led entrepreneurial society. As part of the Can Do Collective, Firstport gathers regularly with other ecosystem partners to collaborate and make the entrepreneurial development process easier for growing businesses.

FirstImpact

FirstImpact is Firstport’s sister company providing support to the responsible business community. The two companies co-deliver on programmes such as the Glasgow Gateway framework.

Business Gateway Glasgow

Firstport delivers business support and acceleration to businesses through Business Gateway’s Glasgow’s specialist provider framework.

University of Strathclyde

We deliver an annual, accredited ‘Business Beyond the Bottom Line’ course for postgraduate research students at the University.

Social Enterprise Scotland

Enterprise Scotland is the national Scottish membership-led organisation, built and controlled by social enterprises. Firstport is a member of Social Enterprise Scotland and work with them to raise the profile of the sector both nationally and internationally.

Senscot

Senscot work to ensure that social enterprises in Scotland have the support they need to deliver positive outcomes in their communities through supporting and representing the Social Enterprise Networks. Firstport had the privilege to sponsor the 2019 Senscot Dragons Den.

The Scottish Government

The Scottish Government is a strong supporter of Firstport through their 10 year Social Enterprise Strategy and are key stakeholders for the Social Entrepreneurs Fund, Just Enterprise, and LaunchMe.

Impact Hub Inverness

Impact Hub Inverness is Scotland’s first Impact Hub. It is part of a global network of people taking action towards a single purpose: Impact. Firstport works closely with Impact Hub Inverness as part of the Just enterprise consortium.

Social Enterprise Academy

Social Enterprise Academy work at local and national levels to bringing together learners to share and learn together, at all stages of personal and organisational growth. Firstport works closely with SEA as part of the Just Enterprise consortium.

CEIS

CEIS is one of Scotland’s leading social enterprise support agency having developed a series of training, support and investment programmes that have been widely adopted and replicated. Firstport works closely with CEIS as part of the Just Enterprise consortium and the Social Shifters University support programme.

William Grant Foundation

The William Grant Foundation funded What if…Girvan, a three-year programme that inspired the local community to think about making a positive change in the area and helped to make that change happen.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise

Highlands & Islands Enterprise is the economic and community development agency for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. We’ve been working with organisations and communities for over 50 years. HIE has been a strategic supporter of Firstport’s programmes for a number of years and currently works closely with the LaunchMe programme.

Social Investment Scotland

Social Investment Scotland (SIS) is one of Scotland’s leading social investors offering loan funding and business support for other social enterprises, charities and community groups looking to make a positive impact on people’s lives, society or the environment. We work with SIS to deliver ‘Introduction to Enterprise’ as part of their South of Scotland programme.

InspirAlba

We worked with InspirAlba as part of our place-based incubator, Vital Spark, to support local people in Argyll and Bute to deliver practical solutions to social and economic challenges in their own communities.

Barclays

Barclays is a British high street and investment bank serving both personal and business clients. Barclays provide free workshop space and mentoring support for our social entrepreneurs as part of our accelerator programme LaunchMe

Streetwork (at Simon Community Scotland)

We work with charity Streetwork to deliver workshops and bespoke business support to people who are homeless, empowering them tackle issues faced by their community while exploring entrepreneurship as a route towards recovery.

University of Glasgow

We deliver an annual, accredited ‘Business Beyond the Bottom Line’ course for postgraduate research students at the University of Glasgow.

NESTA

Nesta is the UK’s innovation foundation. As part of NESTA’s ShareLab Scotland programme, we provide bespoke business advice to develop early-stage ideas that use digital platforms to build sustainable transport solutions.