NSN awarded financial backing from Big Issue Invest
Glasgow, March 16 2022
National Support Network CIC (‘NSN’), a new Glasgow-based social enterprise start-up, has been awarded £50,000 in seed funding from Big Issue Invest.
Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said: “It is challenging for social ventures to secure early-stage funding. We are, therefore, so pleased to work with our brilliant partners in Scotland, to support these organisations with the business development expertise alongside the investment, to get through this crucial early stage. The work these social ventures do in their communities is making a real difference and it has been an honour to help them take this further.”
NSN is one of only four social ventures in Scotland to have been supported by Big Issue Invest’s Power Up Scotland programme, which offers advice, support and an opportunity to pitch for investment.
The impact of taking part in this programme has been transformative for NSN, as Cat Divers, NSN CEO, explains: “We exist to help people find support by signposting them to services such as helplines. With our volunteers we’ve built the UK’s largest hub of trusted national services for all life challenges from health to housing. We want to see a world where anyone facing crisis can get the help they need, regardless of their circumstances.
“When we joined Power Up we were struggling with how to make our work sustainable . During the programme, with support from the Big Issue Invest team, we identified a new way to reach more people and keep this site free to use.
“Our new not-for-profit, NSN, helps companies to signpost customers or employees in need by embedding our support database onto their own platforms via subscription. We are very thankful for the support and funding which has made this possible.”
Hekla Goodman, Big Issue Invest Early Stage Investment Manager, added: “When I met Cat while interviewing organisations for the Power Up Scotland cohort, her passion for the social sector and drive are what stood out among the rest. As a lived-experience Founder, we know that Cat’s insight into the difficulties one faces will have a transformational effect on the end user but also like-minded businesses who partner with her to help their customers in life altering situations as well. We are proud to invest into NSN and know that the tech solution will create a ripple effect throughout the social sector.”
NSN is one of only four social ventures in Scotland to have been supported by Big Issue Invest’s Power Up Scotland programme, which offers advice, support and an opportunity to pitch for investment.
The impact of taking part in this programme has been transformative for NSN, as Cat Divers, NSN CEO, explains: “We exist to help people find support by signposting them to services such as helplines. With our volunteers we’ve built the UK’s largest hub of trusted national services for all life challenges from health to housing. We want to see a world where anyone facing crisis can get the help they need, regardless of their circumstances.
“When we joined Power Up we were struggling with how to make our work sustainable . During the programme, with support from the Big Issue Invest team, we identified a new way to reach more people and keep this site free to use.
“Our new not-for-profit, NSN, helps companies to signpost customers or employees in need by embedding our support database onto their own platforms via subscription. We are very thankful for the support and funding which has made this possible.”
Hekla Goodman, Big Issue Invest Early Stage Investment Manager, added: “When I met Cat while interviewing organisations for the Power Up Scotland cohort, her passion for the social sector and drive are what stood out among the rest. As a lived-experience Founder, we know that Cat’s insight into the difficulties one faces will have a transformational effect on the end user but also like-minded businesses who partner with her to help their customers in life altering situations as well. We are proud to invest into NSN and know that the tech solution will create a ripple effect throughout the social sector.”
“As a lived experience Founder, we know that Cat’s insight into the difficulties one faces will have a transformational effect on the end user but also like-minded businesses who partner with her to help their customers in life altering situations as well.
We are proud to invest into NSN and know that this tech solution will create a ripple effect throughout the social sector.”
We are proud to invest into NSN and know that this tech solution will create a ripple effect throughout the social sector.”
Hekla Goodman
Big Issue Invest Early Stage Investment Manager
