News

Meet this Autumn’s LaunchMe Cohort

The Autumn 2025 cohort
This cohort encompasses a fantastic mix of sectors and approaches, from health and wellbeing to arts, community development, and innovative social solutions. The diversity of backgrounds and experiences amongst our entrepreneurs reflects the global nature of Scotland’s social enterprise community, all united in their ambition to grow and to deliver positive change in our wellbeing economy.

Hazel Ritchie – Artlink Central For over 35 years, Artlink Central has brought professional artists together with people facing barriers through disability, mental health challenges, or social exclusion across hospitals, schools, prisons, and community spaces. They’ve moved into their own space and are renovating to create more opportunities for creative connection.

Phoebe Willison – The Association The Association plans to create affordable workspace and event venues for Glasgow’s creative professionals, funding a public gallery through desk rentals. Finding the right premises could unlock this much-needed creative hub serving professionals and the wider community.

Angela Friel – Caring Operations Joint Action Council (COJAC) Operating under “nothing about us, without us,” COJAC provides services for families affected by disability from their accessible Glasgow centre with sensory rooms and arts facilities. They are looking for investment to enable them to remove reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from their premises and to refurbish and expand the space for community activities. 

Hazel Smith – International Tartans CIC International Tartans uses sales from their 120+ tartans to fund community work across Scotland and humanitarian projects worldwide. They’re exploring partnerships with product makers to bring their patented tartans to wider markets, unlocking more funding to provide employment and training opportunities and deliver social impact.

Nina Ballantyne – Leith St. Andrew’s Trust When the Church of Scotland earmarked historic Leith St Andrew’s Parish Church for sale, local groups including Access Parkour, Think Circus, and Capital Concert Band formed a trust to save it. They’re working towards a community buyout to create a wellbeing activity centre and events space.

Stephen Somerville – Movement Park From a converted Glasgow warehouse, Movement Park creates a welcoming hub for parkour, skateboarding, judo, and basketball, believing “the wealth of the community is judged on the health of the community”. They’re exploring possibilities for a new facility.

Victoria White – Neurodivergent Birth CIC Aberdeen-based Victoria White supports neurodivergent people through pregnancy and birth, hosting podcasts, providing workshops, and recently publishing ‘Why Supporting Neurodivergent Birth Matters’. They’re exploring accreditation and expanding NHS staff training.

Robert Colvin – New Future Aiming to grow a construction and design workforce equipped to build within the context of a climate crisis. They develop sustainable construction skills for people who work, or want to work, in the built environment, teach designers to be builders and builders to be designers, in a commercial self-sustaining way.

Hyelni Norine Adeniyi Babs – Norine Mindeyes Culture Connect This Edinburgh charity created Scotland’s first Afrocentric foodbank and provides culturally appropriate support including hair products and free wigs for cancer patients. They need a dedicated space to expand their culturally-sensitive services.

John Keogh – The Ootsider (CIC) For every two premium changing robes sold, The Ootsider donates a sleeping coat to someone experiencing homelessness – they’ve already provided over 300 coats. They’re exploring adaptive outdoor wear for people with dexterity challenges and wheelchair users.

Donna Cuthbertson – Orkney Dance & Fitness Ltd Scottish Instructor of the Year (2020 and 2024) Donna Cuthbertson has spent 20 years making movement accessible across Orkney’s remote islands, including specialised classes like Parkinson’s Beats. A dedicated space could strengthen their hub for health and connection.

Florence Igboayaka – The Period Place Founded by Aberdeen social entrepreneur Florence Igboayaka, The Period Place tackles period poverty through education, offering free workshops led by medical doctors. They’re expanding corporate training services to fund more free work in schools.

Daniel Scott – Socialtrack Operating from Wishawhill Wood Pumptrack, Socialtrack tackles health, poverty, and isolation through active travel, running bike libraries and free holiday programmes for children. They dream of building a world-class pump track to attract international competitions to Scotland.

Tammy McColm – Solway Disability Support CIC Based in Dumfries, Solway Disability Support runs a day centre helping people with learning and physical disabilities develop life skills and access sports, tackling loneliness through community connection. They’re looking for their own purpose-built space to expand their services.

Grace Murray – Stow Community Trust Since 2009, Stow Community Trust has transformed their village’s former railway station into an award-winning bar, kitchen, and Cycle Hub. They are planning to acquire the former Royal Hotel site and develop a vibrant community hub in the centre of their village to provide much needed activities, shops and services for local residents and visitors. 

Anisha Yaseen – Thrive East Lothian Thrive East Lothian creates safe, trauma-informed havens for families facing tough times across East Lothian. They’re exploring setting up an affordable nursery to make quality early years care accessible to more families who need it.

Lara Porter – Upper Eskdale Development Group When their local school closed in a village of just 250 people, Upper Eskdale Development Group bought it for £1 and transformed it into the Eskdalemuir Community Hub and Old School Café. They’re now exploring bringing other unused buildings in rural Dumfries & Galloway into community ownership to deliver much needed local services.

Danielle Gaffney Du Plooy – Uppertunity Working from Dudhope Castle in Dundee, Uppertunity provides personal development programmes for adults with learning disabilities and additional support needs, focusing on potential rather than barriers. They’re seeking larger premises to expand their innovative approach.

What will LaunchMe provide?
LaunchMe will support these social entrepreneurs via expert-led workshops, personalised one-to-one support, and practical tools to help build investment-ready growth plans. They’ll also have access to our LaunchPad platform. Designed with inclusivity at its heart, LaunchPad has created a supportive space for LaunchMe participants to access a wide range of carefully curated resources, test their knowledge, and work on impactful business plans.

Bringing together the LaunchMe network
Last month, we held an in-person LaunchMe social event for the new autumn cohort and LaunchMe alumni. We had an amazing turnout, with entrepreneurs across our network sharing their business experiences and their hopes for the forthcoming LaunchMe programme.

It was fantastic to bring the LaunchMe community together, old and new, for this face-to-face event. Highlights included LaunchMe alumni providing:

• Vegan food from Serendipities Catering by Uppertunity 

• Bubble tea from Tempo Communitea 
• Styling services for attendees by Cushite Beauty

We also had:

• Open Aye CIC, Firstport awardee, photographing the event
• Our new inclusive name tags from Social Print and Copy CIC getting people thinking about inclusivity when networking

The energy and enthusiasm really highlighted the strength of the LaunchMe community and the impact these social enterprises are making across Scotland.

Find out more about LaunchMe.