Winning social enterprises in Big Venture Challenge revealed
Posted by BusinessZone.co.uk in Business trends on Mon, 26/09/2011 - 10:23
The 25 winners of a competition rewarding social entrepreneurs with up to £175,000 to grow their ventures have been unveiled.
From reducing re-offending and climate change, dealing with mental health and disability, and providing children's services and solutions to homelessness, the businesses were victorious in UnLtd's Big Venture Challenge.
The 25 were selected after a 'Dragons' Den'-style pitch to expert judges including BusinessZone.co.uk editor Dan Martin, Pret-A-Manger co-founder Sinclair Beecham and Big Society Capital CEO Nick O'Donohoe.
The winners include:
- Elixir Foundations CIC: A specialist recycling social enterprise which, inspired by founder Ben Donnelly’s own experience, has engaged with and employed nearly 600 ex-offenders and employed over 300 people with substance abuse issues
- London Early Years Foundation: A 106-year-old charity which under the leadership of June O'Sullivan has transformed into a social enterprise providing accessible early years services, and is now replicating across the country
- SpaceHive Ltd: A new start-up founded by former journalist Chris Gourlay, which aims to be the world's first online funding platform for neighbourhood improvement projects
Nick Hurd MP, minister for civil society, said: "The Big Venture Challenge is an excellent initiative, and I commend the intention to attract new investors into the social sector and scale up some really exciting, impactful initiatives.
"I want to congratulate the 25 winning entrepreneurs being announced today. I look forward with interest to following the growth and development of their innovative social ventures."
Cliff Prior, CEO of UnLtd, added: "These 25 entrepreneurs are a dynamic and impressive set of individuals, and have the ideas which can tackle the challenges facing the UK. We are hugely excited about helping them to grow their ventures to full potential.
"This is just the beginning of their Big Venture Challenge journey, but I feel confident that the combination of their entrepreneurial skills and the first-class support from our partners will give each the best possible chance of success"
Each of the 25 winners receives first stage funding of £25,000 with 10 rewarded with an additional £50,000.
A final two entrepreneurs, who demonstrate the fastest growth, will get a further third round of £100,000. The additional £150,000 is dependent on the ventures can matching it with loans or equity from co-investors. One of the competition's main ambitions is to attract new investors into the social capital sector.
The Big Venture Challenge is supported by the Big Lottery Fund and the Millennium Awards Trust.
Full list of the winners:
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Dragons' Den judges James Caan and Deborah Meaden and social entrepreneur Karen Darby are some of the successful entrepreneurs who feature in our exclusive videos. 
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