Firstport launches new guide to help social entrepreneurs navigate social investment
A new guide designed to help social entrepreneurs better understand and navigate social investment has been launched today.
For many social entrepreneurs, making sense of social investment can feel more complex than it needs to be. Different terminology, varying expectations, and a wide range of providers can create confusion and overwhelm, particularly for those considering social investment for the first time.
Produced by social investor Firstport, The entrepreneurs guide to social investment offers a clear and accessible starting point. It brings together everything social entrepreneurs need to know about social investment in one place, including key terminology, what it means to be investment-ready, and how social investment differs from grants.
The guide places particular emphasis on revenue-based finance, highlighting it as an alternative option for social entrepreneurs looking to grow sustainably. Revenue-based finance is a form of repayable finance where repayments are linked to how much income an organisation earns, rather than set at a fixed monthly amount. When income is higher, repayments increase. When income is lower, repayments reduce. This flexibility is what defines the model.
Firstport manages the Catalyst Fund, the only revenue-based finance product in Scotland. The Catalyst Fund is specifically designed for organisations that may not yet be able to access social investment from other providers due to their age, stage, scale, or trading history. It recognises that many social enterprises fall into a gap, being too established for early-stage grants, but not yet suited to traditional lending or larger investment funds.
The guide has been developed in collaboration with ecosystem partners and co-creator, including Social Investment Scotland, Good Finance, and The Ventures Lab, bringing together a range of perspectives to support more informed decision-making across the sector.
Emily McDonald, Head of Group Investment Programmes at Firstport, said:
Many social entrepreneurs enter the social investment landscape without a clear map. They encounter different terms, different expectations, and often a sense that they are meant to already understand how it all fits together. As a result, organisations that could be a strong fit for social investment rule themselves out based on misconceptions about what it is, who it’s for, or how it works.
We created the The entrepreneurs guide to social investment to bring clarity to that landscape. Shaped alongside our ecosystem co-creators, the guide helps unpack assumptions, explain the options available, and support more informed, confident decisions. We encourage anyone unsure whether social investment is right for them to download the guide and start building a clearer understanding of what’s possible – whether through Firstport’s products or other forms of social investment.
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