| The Rebel School | Summary: This project aims to make entrepreneurship accessible to people who are often excluded from traditional business support. By combining digital and community-based learning, participants gain practical knowledge and confidence to start or grow their own ventures in a way that suits their personal circumstances.
The programme focuses on women, ethnic minority communities, disabled individuals, and those from low-income backgrounds. Activities include tailored training, mentoring, and peer networking, culminating in a celebration event to recognise achievements and promote positive role models.
An independent evaluation will assess impact on confidence, business starts, and economic participation. Supporting more than 150 people across Scotland, the project promotes inclusive routes into enterprise and contributes to greater economic independence for underrepresented groups.
| £111,500 |
| Together Reaching Higher CIC | Summary: This project aims to make entrepreneurship accessible to people who are often excluded from traditional business support. By combining digital and community-based learning, participants gain practical knowledge and confidence to start or grow their own ventures in a way that suits their personal circumstances.
The programme focuses on women, ethnic minority communities, disabled individuals, and those from low-income backgrounds. Activities include tailored training, mentoring, and peer networking, culminating in a celebration event to recognise achievements and promote positive role models.
An independent evaluation will assess impact on confidence, business starts, and economic participation. Supporting more than 150 people across Scotland, the project promotes inclusive routes into enterprise and contributes to greater economic independence for underrepresented groups.
| £84,195 |
| The Melting Pot | Summary: Enterprise in Place aims to make entrepreneurship more inclusive by embedding flexible, locally delivered enterprise support within communities that are often underrepresented in business creation. The project provides practical guidance, confidence-building, and network connections to help participants explore enterprise as a sustainable route into work and self-employment. Delivered collaboratively through community hubs, the programme adapts to local contexts and supports individuals to develop their skills, test ideas, and connect into Scotland’s wider entrepreneurial ecosystem. It focuses on building long-term confidence and opportunity, ensuring participants continue to access support beyond the project. | £127,400 |
| PeoplePlus Group Ltd | Summary: PeoplePlus are launching two projects for two specific beneficiary groups: 1. This project helps women in Glasgow develop the skills, confidence, and knowledge needed to start or grow their own business. Participants receive tailored one-to-one guidance, practical workshops, and ongoing mentoring designed to overcome barriers such as confidence, childcare, and access to finance. By combining professional business advice with peer support and flexible learning, the programme creates an inclusive pathway into entrepreneurship. It supports women at different life stages and employment backgrounds to explore self-employment as a route to financial independence and personal empowerment, contributing to a stronger, more diverse local economy.
2. This project introduces an inclusive enterprise pathway within HMP Stirling, supporting people in custody to gain the skills and confidence needed to consider self-employment after release. Through tailored learning and mentoring, participants explore how to develop viable business ideas, manage finances, and plan for sustainable futures.
The initiative promotes social justice and rehabilitation by helping individuals build independence, resilience, and a renewed sense of purpose. It contributes to the Scottish Government’s priorities of reducing poverty, growing the economy, and supporting reintegration into communities through meaningful, skills-based activity. | £82,724 |
| Stirling Enterprise Park Ltd (STEP) | Summary: FeMade supports women to turn innovative ideas into viable businesses by tackling the barriers that often prevent them from entering enterprise. The project provides tailored guidance, confidence coaching, and expert advice to help participants develop skills, test ideas, and build sustainable ventures.
By offering flexible, hybrid access options, FeMade ensures geography, caring responsibilities, or personal circumstances are not barriers to participation. The programme champions women’s creativity and technical potential, fostering confidence and visibility within Scotland’s innovation economy. It contributes directly to the Pathways recommendations by embedding gender-aware, inclusive business support and building a supportive network of female founders. | £147,370 |
| Scotpreneur Ltd | Name: Mostly Arsed is an innovative initiative designed to help people explore self-employment in a way that feels accessible, practical, and relatable. It focuses on those who are curious about working for themselves but lack confidence or feel excluded from traditional business support. Using engaging, story-based and low-barrier learning resources, the project helps participants identify their skills, motivations, and first steps towards enterprise. Through podcasts, articles, and community taster sessions, it creates a safe and encouraging route for individuals to explore ideas at their own pace before committing to start-up activity.
| £38,728 |
| Social Enterprise Academy | Summary: This project strengthens enterprise support in some of Scotland’s most remote rural and island communities by equipping local social enterprise leaders with the tools to inspire and guide new entrepreneurs. Through immersive residential learning, participants will enhance their enterprise and coaching skills, building confidence to support aspiring business founders from underrepresented groups within their communities. By developing capacity within trusted local organisations such as development trusts, the programme fosters inclusive, community-led economic growth. It encourages collaboration, strengthens local networks, and widens participation in entrepreneurship across rural Highland and Eilean Siar, where access to mainstream business support is often limited. | £55,370 |
| East Ayrshire Council | Summary: Step Up is a community-based initiative designed to widen participation in entrepreneurship by supporting women who are currently under-represented in East Ayrshire’s business landscape. The project builds confidence, skills, and networks among women who may face barriers such as rural isolation, caring responsibilities, or limited access to digital and financial resources. Through locally delivered workshops, mentoring, and peer networks, participants will explore self-employment as a route to independence and economic inclusion. The programme encourages collaboration, showcases local role models, and creates sustainable community-based support for female enterprise, helping to close gender gaps in entrepreneurship. | £101,000 |
| The King’s Trust | Summary: Enterprise for All, delivered by The King’s Trust, aims to unlock entrepreneurial potential among young people who are underrepresented in Scotland’s enterprise ecosystem. The project promotes entrepreneurship as a realistic and rewarding route into work, particularly for those facing barriers linked to disadvantage, gender, ethnicity, or circumstance. Through targeted outreach, engaging events, relatable role models, and tailored one-to-one mentoring, the project will raise awareness of self-employment and build confidence among young people aged 18–30. By creating new entry routes and strengthening community partnerships, Enterprise for All will widen participation and leave a lasting legacy of diverse young entrepreneurs contributing to Scotland’s economy. | £74,596 |
| Business Gateway Edinburgh c/o The City of Edinburgh | Summary: Bold Beginnings supports women in Wester Hailes and Muirhouse, two of Edinburgh’s most disadvantaged communities, to explore entrepreneurship as a route to empowerment and income generation. By embedding delivery in trusted community hubs, the project removes practical and psychological barriers that prevent women from accessing traditional business support. Through local outreach, workshops, mentoring, and digital skills training, participants gain the confidence and tools to start or grow small enterprises or side ventures. The project promotes inclusion, community wealth building, and family resilience, leaving a legacy of stronger local networks and role models for future entrepreneurs. | £121,864 |
| Spark | Summary: What If? Craigshill and Livingston is a community-led initiative that uses enterprise as a tool for regeneration and empowerment in one of West Lothian’s most deprived areas. By making entrepreneurship visible, relatable, and practical, the project helps residents see self-employment as a viable route to confidence, income, and resilience. Delivered through local venues and everyday spaces, participants take part in relaxed “What If?” sessions, peer “kitchen-table” clusters, and youth-focused activities at the local skatepark. Each strand focuses on small, low-risk actions that build belief and momentum. Partnerships with schools, employers, housing providers, and Sky’s Digital Hub ensure broad community reach and sustained digital inclusion. | £84,215 |
| West College Scotland | Summary: Art of Enterprise is a locally driven initiative designed to close gender gaps in entrepreneurship by supporting women from Inverclyde and Renfrewshire’s most disadvantaged communities to develop creative, market-ready enterprise skills. Through a three-part masterclass series — Inspire, Empower, Innovate — participants will gain confidence, practical business knowledge, and access to local networks that enable them to explore self-employment as a pathway to independence and resilience. The programme combines hands-on craft-based sessions aligned with local tourism and cultural economy, online entrepreneurial training in branding and e-commerce, and the nationally recognised Innovation Literacy course. By delivering flexible, accessible learning tailored to women with caregiving responsibilities, Art of Enterprise supports inclusive participation and strengthens the entrepreneurial ecosystem. | £22,520 |
| 17 Points | Summary: Park the Connection Roadshow is a nationwide initiative designed to widen participation in entrepreneurship by reaching people who may not yet see themselves as entrepreneurs — but could, if given the opportunity. The programme will visit six regions across Scotland, creating accessible, inspiring spaces where underrepresented individuals can explore ideas, build confidence, and connect with potential co-founders and collaborators. Through regional roadshows, online sessions, and showcase events, participants will gain practical tools, networks, and belief in their entrepreneurial potential. Designed with inclusion at its core, Spark addresses barriers faced by women, parents and carers, refugees, neurodiverse individuals, and those from rural or low-income backgrounds. It champions connection, representation, and confidence as essential ingredients of Scotland’s future entrepreneurial success. | £73,345 |
| Scottish Asian Business Chamber | Summary: Inclusive Enterprise Stirling, delivered by the Scottish Asian Business Chamber, aims to widen participation in entrepreneurship by connecting underrepresented groups into Stirling’s business ecosystem. The project focuses on residents in SIMD priority areas, rural entrepreneurs, and minority ethnic founders — particularly women — who face barriers of access, visibility, and trust when engaging with mainstream business support. Through community-based events, tailored workshops, one-to-one support, and cultural competency training for institutional partners, the project will make Stirling’s entrepreneurial ecosystem more inclusive and representative. By embedding outreach in trusted spaces and co-designing with local communities, the initiative will create lasting networks between entrepreneurs and service providers, ensuring equitable access to opportunity. | £40,900 |