Ready To RISE

Building on the success of our pilot of Ready to RISE in 2023/24, The Challenges Group and Firstport were delighted to announce a new Ready to RISE programme supporting pre-start up women entrepreneurs in Scotland.

Having again won Pathways funding from The Scottish Government to promote social entrepreneurship to women across Scotland, Ready to RISE ran for a second time in early 2025.

Ready to RISE was aimed at any woman in Scotland who:

had an early-stage idea to start an organisation with a social or environmental purpose (like a social enterprise or charity) but aren’t sure where to start; AND/OR
could see a problem that needed fixing in our society or their local community but weren’t sure how to galvanise people around them to help; AND/OR
wondered if starting an impact-driven business is the way to achieve the (work)life blend and purpose they seek.

Applications are now closed.

Ready To RISE brought together the expertise of The Challenges Group in addressing women’s meaningful participation in the labour market (through the award-winning Making Work Work), with that of Firstport, Scotland’s agency for start-up social entrepreneurs and social enterprise, in an innovative new partnership.

The Making Work Work team has already helped over 300 Scottish women to transition into and towards work that works following a career break. Making Work Work programmes are managed by Challenges’ Senior Manager for Learning & Leadership, Lynn Houmdi, who is also Scotland's Flex Influencer 2022 and Founder of Flexible Working Scotland.

If you would like to know more about the programme, you can watch a replay of our information session:

Catch up on our most recent social entrepreneur panel event: