Tag: Big Issue Invest

Big Issue Invest support for Scottish social ventures

Big Issue Invest (BII) has announced that it has been able to provide four social ventures with half a million pounds of investment.  

The social ventures were chosen as part of this year’s Big Issue Invest programme Power Up Scotland lending scheme that offers investment, advice and support to early-stage social ventures across Scotland.

The four social ventures which have all received funding from the Big Issue Invest scheme are: Ayrshire Women’s Hub, Brave Strong Beautiful, National Support Network and Edinburgh’s Wee Seeds.  

Big Issue Invest’s Power Up programme, launched in 2017, was opened to organisations across Scotland from October to January this year.

The funding scheme aims to enable organisations to build on the good work they currently do within their communities. Whether it’s buying equipment, hiring new talent, or progressing with business development plans. Successful applicants receive mentoring and business development support to social ventures for the two-year period. 

The programme is funded by partners, abrdn, University of Edinburgh, Experian, Places for People and the Scottish Government with legal support from Brodies LLP. 

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 makes a real difference and it has been an honour to help them take this further.”  

Cat Divers, My Pickle CIC Founder and CEO, added: “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’ as My Pickle CIC we were struggling with how to make our work sustainable without introducing adverts or paywalls on mypickle.org. 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, National Support Network (NSN) CIC, 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.”

Christina Cran, Founder and CEO of Wee Seeds, said: “Wee Seeds was born pre-pandemic, from my need to help my own son after he showed signs of anxiety following my life-changing diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes.

“But it is even more relevant today, given the impact of Covid on our children’s mental health. We have a tremendous opportunity to bring mindfulness to the early years and shift the mental health agenda for decades to come.

“The loan from Big Issue Invest will enable us to work towards that shift, power up our business ambitions, help future generations deal with the impact of Covid, and plant the seeds of positive mental health in our young people.” 

To read more about the Power Up Scotland Programme visit: 

https://www.bigissue.com/invest/investments/power-up-scotland-programme/ 

Big Issue Invest supports local enterprise Homes For Good

  • Social investor reports supporting 184 social enterprises in past year
  • In turn, investees supported over 1 million people across the UK
  • Social investor outlines new strategic direction with ambitious target to increase the assets under BII management and advisory to over £500 million by 2030

Big Issue Invest (BII) has launched its 2020-2021 Impact Report.

The report revealed that the social investment arm of The Big Issue, supported 184 social enterprises across the UK with £39.7 million Assets Under Management (AUM) at March 2021*.

The report detailed how, in turn, those 184 social enterprises were able to support over 1.16 million customers across the UK in the same period.

The organisation reported that, of BII’s total investment portfolio, over 62% of the 184 investees of the past year are based in areas of high deprivation**, where capital can have the greatest social and economic benefits, including London, the North East and North West.

20% of BII’s total portfolio is invested into organisations directly tackling inequality in the UK in order to improve health, education and job outcomes in deprived areas.

BII’s investments in Scotland, the North East, East Midlands and the East of England have significantly increased during the period.

For example, £5 million was invested in Scotland- based social ventures with a major investment in the social lettings agency Homes For Good.

£1.7 million of investment was made into social enterprises in the East of England, with a change in value percentage of 667%.

Of the total number of investments, 16% support people living in poverty and/or financial exclusion, 11% support people living in precarious housing or who are homeless, 12% support vulnerable young people, 11% support people experiencing unemployment and 9% support people with mental health needs and conditions.

The top five Sustainable Development Goals contributed to by BII’s investees were: Good Health and Wellbeing (31%), Decent Work and Economic Growth (17.4%), Sustainable Cities and Communities (16.3%), Quality Education (10.3%) and Reduced Inequalities (8.2%).

The report showed that 9,490 people are employed by BII’s investees across the UK and provide 6,900 volunteering opportunities for people in local communities. It also revealed that 76% of investees focused their impact at a local rather than national level.

The report detailed BII’s support of social enterprises during the pandemic. BII provided £3.2 million of grants to 118 grantees across England as part of the National Lottery Community Fund’s ‘Social Enterprise Support Fund’ and supported the Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund to disburse £5.5 million through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

It also provided 61% investees with repayment holidays. Over 50% of BII’s investees managed to grow or maintain their work during the Pandemic.

The report also laid out the foundations of the new BII strategy: We Back Human Potential.  BII’s new strategy, which includes an ambitious target to increase the assets under BII management and advisory to over £500 million by 2030.

Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said: “In the past year, we have been inspired by the way that social enterprises and charities across the UK have responded to the unprecedented challenges faced by their communities whilst also overcoming challenges within their organisations.

“I am proud of the Big Issue Invest team who have worked tirelessly in supporting our investees to keep the lights on, adapt to new operating environments and to continue to deliver impact to their customers.

“We were part of two major sector responses to the pandemic: the Social Enterprise Support Fund and the Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund. On top of this, we continued to support over 180 organisations with £39.7 million of investment.

“During this period, we have launched a brand new strategy as an impact investor. Driving everything we do, we will champion impact-first investing; we will push for social equality and we will provide a broader range of support that is ‘more than money’.

“Over the last 12 months, BII has continued to prioritise improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our investees for their engagement on this issue, as well as our many partners and the networks in the sector who continue to push the social investment and social sectors to be more inclusive and accessible to social purpose organisations and the wider communities they support.”

BII-IMPACT-Report-20-21-NEWDownload

For more information and to download the 2021 Impact Report, please visit:

www.bigissueinvest.com.

Big Issue Invest’s Power Up Scotland announces the eight social ventures chosen to receive £500,000 of investment

Today, Friday 29th October, Big Issue Invest (BII) has announced the eight social ventures which have been chosen to receive support from the Big Issue Invest’s Power Up Scotland scheme.  

Power Up Scotland is a lending scheme that offers investment, advice and support to early stage social ventures across Scotland. This year the scheme has been able to offer £500,000 worth of investment in total.

  

The eight social ventures which will receive support from the Big Issue Invest scheme are: Ayrshire Women’s Hub, Bikes For Refugees, Brave Strong Beautiful, Coffee + Clay, Common Ground Against Homelessness, Lochend Football Academy, MyPickle and Wee Seeds.  

Big Issue Invest’s Power Up programme, launched in 2017, was opened to organisations across Scotland from July to September this year. The funding scheme aims to enable organisations to build on the good work they currently do within their communities.

Whether it’s buying equipment, hiring new talent, or progressing with business development plans. Successful applicants receive mentoring and business development support to social ventures for the two-year period. 

The programme is funded by partners, abrdn, University of Edinburgh, Experian, Places for People and the Scottish Government with legal support from Brodies LLP. 

Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said: “It is challenging as a social venture to secure early-stage funding. We are, therefore, so pleased, working with our brilliant partners in Scotland, to be able to support these organisations with the investment and business development expertise that they need in order to make an even greater difference. 

We are incredibly excited about working with this year’s Power Up Scotland applicants. The work they do in their communities is incredible and it will be an honour to help them take this further.” 

Cat Divers, My Pickle CIC Founder and CEO, added: “Starting a social enterprise, particularly a not-for-profit, is extremely challenging and having access to expert advice, support and funding is critical. 

“We are so grateful to be accepted onto this programme. My Pickle CIC is all about co-creating new solutions that help people, and particularly the most vulnerable in society, to find and access the support they need when they need it.  

“We want to see a world where anyone facing crisis can get the help they need when they need it, regardless of their location, finances or other personal circumstances.” 

Steven McCluskey, Founder and CEO of Bikes for Refugees, added: “Bikes for Refugees Scotland is very excited to be part of the Big Issue Power Up Scotland programme as we continue to meet the challenges of the pandemic and an increasing demand for our service from New Scots.  

“We have no doubts that this valuable programme will provide us with the much-needed support that we require at this pivotal stage in our growth and development as we aim to increase impact and become financially secure and sustainable in our work with refugees.” 

The programme has been designed for early stage social ventures, no matter whether it is just in the ideation phase or whether it has been trading for a couple of years, we are happy to help and offer support where needed. For many of the applicants this is the first time they have accessed finance.  

To read more about the fund please visit: 

https://www.bigissue.com/invest/investments/power-up-scotland-programme/ 

Positive social impact delivered by Invisible Cities reported at £187,700

Impact delivered by Invisible Cities is achieved both in the direct employment of tour providers and through the wider training and advocacy work they deliver

Invisible Cities, the social enterprise that trains people who have previously  experienced  homelessness, to become walking tour guides of their own city in Edinburgh, Manchester,  Glasgow and York – has recently worked with Big Issue Invest to develop a report, measuring their social impact. 

The social impact delivered by Invisible Cities is achieved both in the direct employment of tour providers and through the wider training and advocacy work delivered by the team.

Invisible Cities has supported 13 people directly to generate sustainable income with three going on to suitable further employment. Big Issue Invest has estimated a social value of £187,700 generated by Invisible Cities while accounting for attribution and using National TOMs values.

Zakia Moulaoui Guery, Founder & CEO of Invisible Cities comments; “Our work today is more important than ever: with an estimated 320,000 people homeless or at risk of homelessness, both the supportive employment and the help we can offer with regards to individual wellbeing are crucial for many of the UK’s most vulnerable people.

“The impact we can deliver is achieved both by employing our tour guides directly and through the wider training and advocacy work delivered by our team. We also create awareness-raising campaigns, training sessions to schools and major businesses and collaboration sessions between homeless people and service providers.”

Data compiled to draft the report also found that Invisible Cities provided training for 23 tour guides and held an additional 16 schools and training sessions. They also hosted 4,130 visitors on their tours and significantly raised awareness around homelessness in the UK, with 2,360 people confirming that they had directly learned about homelessness from the social enterprise. 

Joshua Meek, Head of Impact at Big Issue Invest comments: “Invisible Cities is a brilliant example of an enterprising organisation, keen to understand and grow the impact they are creating.

“It has been great to see one of our very own Big Issue vendors trained through Invisible Cities and working as a tour guide in Edinburgh.”

Invisible Cities plans to continue to support guides and to develop a bespoke Women of Scotland programme that will specifically aim to help marginalised women to join the Invisible Cities programme. The work will also look to cover key issues facing women across Scotland including period poverty, domestic abuse and accessing clear support services for women, by women.

Invisible Cities also plans to set up its Cardiff branch in 2021 with the objective of being in seven cities across the UK. 

Zakia concludes: “We couldn’t be prouder of our team and of our tour guides! Together and through sheer passion for what we do, we are helping to make a real difference in the lives of vulnerable people, in many different ways.

“There is so much more we want to – and will – achieve!”

For more information and to read the full Impact Report, visit: 

http://invisible-cities.org/our-mission

Celebrating Big Issue Invest’s Power Up programme

A celebratory event was held at the Playfair Library Hall, Old College, in Edinburgh on Thursday to mark a £600,000 investment and business support into 12 Scottish social ventures by Big Issue Invest.

Big Issue Invest’s Power Up, a lending scheme offering investment and support to early stage social ventures across Scotland, was first launched in November 2017 and has supported 18 social business to date with a total of close to 1 million (£950,000) of investment.

The programme​ is funded by partners, Aberdeen Standard Investments, University of Edinburgh, Experian, Places for People and the Scottish Government with legal support from Brodies LLP.

Invisible Cities was one of 12 social ventures that successfully completed the three month Power Up Programme in 2019.

The Scottish social enterprise trains local people who have experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own cities. Until the investment from Big Issue Invest, Invisible Cities was 100% volunteer lead. Now they have a team of 4 staff – 2 full time and 2 part time. They have a total of 12 guides across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Manchester and have recruited York and Cardiff as two franchise cities.

Zakia Moulaoui, Founder, Invisible Cities, said: “By taking part in the Big Issue Invest programme, Invisible Cities has grown from a small Edinburgh based team to a multi-location social enterprise with a plan!

“The support and mentoring was invaluable, with results we see every day in our work, plus connections we could have never made on our own. As a leader it has made me really dig into the reasons why we do what we do and be very clear on what we want to achieve in the future.”

Social enterprises that were supported in 2020 included Blank Faces, a fashion brand tackling homelessness, Social Stories Club, who create socially-conscious gift hampers that have a positive social impact and Eat Sleep Ride, a social enterprise offering therapy of horse riding to develop self-esteem, communication and social skills in those who need help.

Karis Gill, Director at Social Stories Club, said: “Power Up has been amazing for us, as it has pushed us to the next stage.

“We’ve been paired up with mentors and had the most phenomenal expertise and insight into the corporate market. For a small business, this has been truly invaluable.”

Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said: “It has been a fantastic day.

“We are so pleased, working in partnership with our partners Aberdeen Standard Investments, University of Edinburgh, Experian, Places For People and the Scottish Government and Brodies LLP, to be able to have been inspired by -and to have supported – these 12 organisations with the investment and business development expertise that they need in order to make an even greater difference within their communities.”

“This unique partnership has brought creativity, technical skills and mentoring to early stage social ventures, which adds value beyond the funding they receive.”

Commenting on behalf of Aberdeen Standard Investments, Craig MacDonald, Head of Credit, said: “It’s great to see the significant impact the Power Up Programme continues to have on a number of early stage social ventures across Scotland.

“We are delighted to be one of the partners of this very worthwhile initiative. Providing mentoring and advice services can make a very real difference to organisations in their infancy and along with the other partners, we hope to provide valuable guidance and insight.

“Supporting social ventures and working with local communities is a key aspect of the overall sustainability programme at ASI and we look forward to seeing Power Up continue to go from strength to strength.”

Dave Gorman, Director of Social Responsibility and Sustainability at The University of Edinburgh: “The University of Edinburgh is delighted to continue working with Big Issue Invest as a major partner to Power Up Scotland.

“The Programme has supported some truly innovative and impactful social ventures which our own students, staff and local communities have enjoyed learning about and using. We look forward to seeing what other ventures benefit from the programme’s support in the following year.”

The Power Up programme is open to organisations across Scotland. The funding available is to enable organisations to build on the good work they currently do within their communities.

Whether it’s buying equipment, hiring new talent, or progressing with business development plans. Successful applicants will also receive mentoring and business development support to social ventures for the two year period.

The programme has been designed for early-stage social ventures, regardless of company structure – social enterprises, charities, and private enterprises are all welcome, with social value creation being the key criterion. The expectation is that many applicants will be accessing finance for the first time.

If you are a local social enterprise or charity looking for investment, you can apply for the chance to be selected to pitch before our selection panel consisting of Power Up Scotland partners in 2021. 

For more information www.bigissueinvest/powerup to register your interest and we will email you an application form. If you are an investor, you can be part of powering up Scotland’s social enterprises. For more information, visit bigissueinvest.com/