NSN selected for Firstport accelerator and awarded £60,000 in seed funding
Glasgow, September 5 2022
National Support Network CIC (‘NSN’), a social enterprise offering customer wellbeing services, has been selected for Firstport’s investment accelerator programme LaunchMe and awarded £60,000 in seed funding.
NSN pitched and was awarded £50,000 in seed funding from Firstport’s BoostIt fund. This award was swiftly followed by selection into Firstports competitive investment readiness accelerator ‘LaunchMe’ with an additional £10,000 seed funding.
After a competitive selection process, six social enterprises from across the country were selected for LaunchMe, Scotland’s social enterprise accelerator. Enterprises were selected based on their potential to scale, secure investment and generate social impact in their communities.
LaunchMe, which is delivered by social enterprise start-up agency Firstport, supports ambitious social enterprises to achieve scale by getting them investment ready and connecting them with investors looking for social, as well as financial, returns.
“Private companies are typically able to access equity investment at this stage, but this is not an option for us as a social enterprise. We have no shares and an ‘asset lock’ ensures all profits are reinvested in the business and its social aims.” said NSN CEO and Co-Founder, Cat Divers.
“Having access to seed funding and being part of this programme has been incredibly important for us. We are very grateful for all the support Firstport offers and excited to connect with social investors to grow our enterprise and help more people in need.”
Josiah Lockhart, Chief Executive of Firstport, said “Having been successful with early-stage seed funding through Firstport’s Boost It, it was clear that investment readiness support would help Cat and her team to prepare for the follow-on investment needed by NSN, and our LaunchMe programme was the natural next step.
“LaunchMe assists ambitious social enterprises to scale by offering tailored business and investment readiness support. For NSN, this has meant focusing on market validation, pricing strategy and social impact measurement to ensure they are ready to take the next steps towards growth through follow-on investment.
Josiah added “We are delighted to support Cat Divers and the team at NSN to achieve their vision of supporting people to get help where needed, while improving employability through a targeted volunteering programme.”
After a competitive selection process, six social enterprises from across the country were selected for LaunchMe, Scotland’s social enterprise accelerator. Enterprises were selected based on their potential to scale, secure investment and generate social impact in their communities.
LaunchMe, which is delivered by social enterprise start-up agency Firstport, supports ambitious social enterprises to achieve scale by getting them investment ready and connecting them with investors looking for social, as well as financial, returns.
“Private companies are typically able to access equity investment at this stage, but this is not an option for us as a social enterprise. We have no shares and an ‘asset lock’ ensures all profits are reinvested in the business and its social aims.” said NSN CEO and Co-Founder, Cat Divers.
“Having access to seed funding and being part of this programme has been incredibly important for us. We are very grateful for all the support Firstport offers and excited to connect with social investors to grow our enterprise and help more people in need.”
Josiah Lockhart, Chief Executive of Firstport, said “Having been successful with early-stage seed funding through Firstport’s Boost It, it was clear that investment readiness support would help Cat and her team to prepare for the follow-on investment needed by NSN, and our LaunchMe programme was the natural next step.
“LaunchMe assists ambitious social enterprises to scale by offering tailored business and investment readiness support. For NSN, this has meant focusing on market validation, pricing strategy and social impact measurement to ensure they are ready to take the next steps towards growth through follow-on investment.
Josiah added “We are delighted to support Cat Divers and the team at NSN to achieve their vision of supporting people to get help where needed, while improving employability through a targeted volunteering programme.”
“We are delighted to support Cat Divers and the team at NSN to achieve their vision of supporting people to get help where needed, while improving employability through a targeted volunteering programme.”
Josiah Lockhart
Chief Executive of Firstport
