Boost for social enterprises

Driver Graeme Turton, committee member, Marion Hunter and secretary Rab Jeffrey of the Bo'ness and Area Community Bus Association. Picture: Michael Gillen

The Bo’ness and Falkirk communities will benefit from £8300 to pilot business ideas for two projects which address major social issues.

Adesanmi Fasoro from Falkirk received £5000 to pilot his enterprise, HomePointr, which helps people access supported housing. The company combines a professional network of supported housing providers and referral agencies with an online platform to improve access for users.

The second enterprise is the Bo’ness and Area Community Bus Association (BACBA), which started running the C19 minibus service from the town to Edinburgh after bus links were cut leaving commuters and normal customers with limited access to decent routes to work, university or social trips to the city.

Fifteen social enterprises across Scotland shared a total of £62,289 from the Social Entrepreneurs Fund, delivered by Firstport.

Chief executive of Firstport Karen McGregor said: “I am very pleased that Firstport is supporting people at the start of their entrepreneurial journey, enabling them to test their ideas.

“The variety of ideas shows that social enterprise can be applied to any sector and tackle a range of issues in innovative ways.

“We believe that they will take their ideas forward and turn them into sustainable businesses, adding to the pool of successful social enterprises in Scotland.”