The 25

Aileen McDonnell : B4Box Ltd

Aileen McDonnell : B4Box Ltd

B4box is a construction company which guarantees that 80% of the workforce is recruited from people on benefits, local to the work.

 

Amra Dautovic : MyTime

Amra Dautovic : MyTime

My Time CIC is an award winning enterprise that provides accessible talking therapies and mental health services.

Annabel McMahon : Rackety's Ltd

Annabel McMahon : Rackety's Ltd

Rackety’s is a branded range of high street quality clothing designed for disabled children and adults.

Chris Gourlay : Spacehive Ltd

Chris Gourlay : Spacehive Ltd

Spacehive is an online funding platform for neighbourhood improvement projects

Chris Tully : Ripplez CIC

Chris Tully : Ripplez CIC

Ripplez CIC is an independent, not-for-profit social enterprise which delivers Family Nurse Partnership, a home visiting programme for vulnerable first-time mothers.

 Daniel  Snell & Emily Shenton: Arrival Education

Daniel Snell & Emily Shenton: Arrival Education

Arrival Education runs talent development programmes for young people from challenging backgrounds, to transform their prospects in work and life.

Emma Morris : Beyond Youth

Emma Morris : Beyond Youth

Beyond Youth deliver intensive group-based interventions through their Chance 2 Change programme for young offenders and those at risk of offending aged 14-25

Emma-Jane Cross : CyberMentors

CyberMentors is an online peer and professional mentoring and support service for young people aged 11-18 who are facing bullying and child-on-child violence

Jayne Hulbert & Jayne Creswell : The SWEET Project

Jayne Hulbert & Jayne Creswell : The SWEET Project

The SWEET Project provides social work student placements to universities, working to support families in need.

 

Jon Cousins : Moodscope

Jon Cousins : Moodscope

Moodscope is an online tool which enables people to measure, track and share their daily mood to help overcome depression and other mental health problems.

June O'Sullivan : The London Early Years Foundation (LEYF)

June O'Sullivan : The London Early Years Foundation (LEYF)

LEYF provides high quality, affordable childcare for London’s families, especially in areas of high deprivation.

Lance Haggith : Sports Traider

Lance Haggith : Sports Traider

Sports Traider sell donated sportswear and equipment at discount prices to provide sporting and employment opportunities to young people.

Maryam Zonouzi: Coalition for Independent Living

Maryam Zonouzi: Coalition for Independent Living

Coalition for Independent Living train and accredits disabled and older people as professional peer brokers to help others like themselves to plan, find and manage their healthcare and support services.

Michael May

Mick May : Blue Sky Development & Regeneration

Blue Sky is a social enterprise working in the grounds maintenance and recycling sector, solely employing ex-offenders.

Mohammad Al-Ubaydli : Patients Know Best

Mohammad Al-Ubaydli : Patients Know Best

Patients Know Best created the world’s first patient-controlled medical records system to raise quality, lower NHS costs, and put patients in control of their health.

Neil Basil : Patient Choice

Patient Choice provides information to people affected by stoma surgery on their bowel or bladder, enabling them to make their own choices about their own care.

 

Patrick Shine & Simon McNeil Ritchie: Franchising Works

Patrick Shine & Simon McNeil Ritchie: Franchising Works

FranchisingWorks is a social enterprise that tackles unemployment by helping the workless create new businesses and jobs through franchising.

Christine Anderson: Star Enterprise Work and Play

Ruth Parrott: Star Enterprise Work and Play

Star Enterprise Work and Play runs nightclubs for people with learning disabilities that are safe and inclusive.

Shaun Doran : Bulky Bob's

Shaun Doran : Bulky Bob's

Bulky Bob’s is a bulky waste collection, reuse and recycling service which also provides routes out of unemployment.

Sheraz Arif : Squease

Sheraz Arif : Squease

Squease is a therapeutic garment that helps individuals with autism better deal with anxiety

Tom Storey : REDS10 Training

Tom Storey : REDS10 Training

REDS10 supports unemployed individuals into long-term sustainable careers, while also addressing skills gaps on local construction projects.

Will Akerman : MyKindaCrowd

Will Akerman : MyKindaCrowd

MyKindaCrowd encourages students to submit ideas to companies' real-life challenges, to connect them to the world of work, society and their future.

Zoe Peden : MyChoicePad

Zoe Peden : MyChoicePad

MyChoicePad is an educational iPad app that uses symbols and signs with speech to enable choice and communication for  children and adults with learning or communication difficulties.

Big Venture Challenge is a national competition to find 25 of the most ambitious social entrepreneurs in England. The competition is now closed - we found The 25!

The 25 winners of Big Venture Challenge receive an initial £25K grant and the chance to access up to £150K of seed funding if matched by loans or equity from co-investors, plus first class business support and mentoring designed to keep pace with high growth social entrepreneurs. 

These social entrepreneurs have vision, talent and determination. In other words, they are:

  • people with big ideas to transform disadvantaged communities across England
  • people who have got what it takes to build credible ventures
  • people who have the ambition to scale up impact fast

Find out more about the 25 >>

Read more about Big Venture Challenge >>