Firstport
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersEdinburgh, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Firstport firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Firstport
- Legal name
- First Port for Social Entrepreneurs Scotland Limited
- Website
- https://firstport.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Firstport industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Enterprise Support and Funding Services
- NAICS
- Credit Card Issuing (522210), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Small Business & Self-Employment Personal Finance (Income, Expenses, Cash Reserves) (EDAAAJAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Transaction Analytics & Cash-Flow Insights (risk signals, forecasting) (FSAGACAG)
Keywords
Where Firstport is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Edinburgh
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Firstport business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Grant funding programmes (Social Innovation Challenge, Social Entrepreneurs Fund Start it/Build it/Boost It): Non-repayable grants awarded to social enterprises (e.g., £30,000 SIC winner, £10,000 finalists, SEF awards), funded by external backers including the Scottish Government, National Lottery, and People's Postcode Lottery.
- Step Up 0% interest loans: Repayable 0% interest loans from £5,000 to £30,000 with flexible repayment terms and an average three-week turnaround, designed as a first step into social investment.
- Catalyst Fund revenue-based finance: Social investment loans starting at £50,000 using an innovative revenue-based repayment model (e.g., £350,000 to Granton Project CIC — single largest Catalyst Fund investment to date).
- Programme partnership and delivery income: Income from delivering business support and partner programmes such as Just Enterprise (Scottish Government-funded) and LaunchMe (funded via expert partner contributions and programme sponsorship).
- Charitable donations and fundraising: Charity (SC037942) accepts donations and fundraising income, with newsletter signups and community engagement as supporting mechanisms.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Social Innovation Challenge grants |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Step Up 0% interest loans |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Catalyst Fund loans (revenue-based) |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | LaunchMe (free investment readiness programme) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Firstport product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Firstport is a Scottish registered charity that provides free business advice, non-repayable grant funding, and social investment (0% interest loans and revenue-based finance) to new and emerging social entrepreneurs across Scotland. It delivers this support through structured programmes covering the full social enterprise journey: investment-readiness (LaunchMe and the LaunchPad platform), seed-stage grants (Social Entrepreneurs Fund Start it/Build it/Boost it), business advisory (Just Enterprise), 0% interest loans (Step Up), larger revenue-based investment (Catalyst Fund), and an annual themed grant competition (Social Innovation Challenge).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- LaunchMe: Firstport's investment readiness programme that helps social and community enterprises prepare to secure investment to scale; operates as a rolling, open programme with LaunchPad online platform.
- Step Up
- Catalyst Fund
- Just Enterprise
- Social Entrepreneurs Fund (SEF)
- Boost Fund
- Social Innovation Challenge
Products and services
- LaunchMe An open, rolling investment-readiness programme that helps ambitious social and community enterprises in Scotland prepare to secure investment to scale. It provides a bespoke programme of support, expert-led workshops, peer group sessions, and one-to-one professional expertise. Free to eligible social and community enterprises based in Scotland that operate primarily for the benefit of Scottish people or communities.
- LaunchPad An inclusive learning management platform that hosts LaunchMe resources, providing recorded workshops, live Q&A sessions, written templates, video examples of successful pitches, and one-to-one session bookings. Designed with accessibility in mind to work for autistic founders and other participants with diverse learning needs.
- Step Up A 0% interest loan product offering £5,000 to £30,000 with flexible repayment terms and an average three-week turnaround. Designed for enterprising charities and social enterprises looking to build on proven ideas, providing capital to scale without the burden of high-interest costs.
- Social Entrepreneurs Fund (SEF) Award programme operated across three stages — SEF Start it, SEF Build it, and SEF Boost it — supporting social entrepreneurs at different stages of their journey. Provides development awards and a Boost Fund for those needing repayable finance.
- Just Enterprise A Scottish Government-funded social enterprise support programme delivered by Firstport, providing start-up support and advice to social entrepreneurs through dedicated Business Advisors and Associates.
- Catalyst Fund A flexible social investment fund offering loans starting at £50,000 using an innovative revenue-based repayment model that provides social enterprises with finance without compromising their social mission. Managed by the Group Investment Programmes team.
- Social Innovation Challenge Firstport's annual grant-funding and support programme that awards a £30,000 grant to the winner and £10,000 each to two finalists (with the 2025 edition awarding £50,000 to the winner and up to £25,000 per runner-up), addressing priority themes such as child poverty, growing the economy, climate emergency and sustainable public services.
Companies that use Firstport
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Firstport technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Firstport partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Firstport competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Key Fund: UK social-investment fund providing loans and grants to social enterprises, charities and community businesses, particularly in the North of England and Midlands. Closely comparable blended-finance model.
- Power to Change: UK trust funding and supporting community businesses. Comparable mission, audience and programme mix (grants, business support), but with an England-only geographic focus.
- Big Issue Invest: Social-investment arm of The Big Issue providing loans, grants and impact-investment services to UK social enterprises. Direct comparable on the social-investment product side, particularly to Firstport's Catalyst Fund and Step Up.
- Charity Bank: UK-regulated bank providing loans to charities and social enterprises. Comparable on the social-lending product side; structurally similar to Firstport's Step Up and Catalyst Fund offerings.
- Foundation Scotland: Scottish grant-making and community-foundations body that co-invests alongside Firstport (e.g., £150k alongside the £350k Catalyst Fund deal to Granton Project CIC). Comparable funder/partner and a frequent co-investor.
- Social Investment Scotland (SIS): Scotland-focused social-investment body providing loans, grants and business support to social enterprises and charities. Direct comparable in mission, geography and product set, with overlapping funders (e.g., Foundation Scotland).
- School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE): UK charity delivering learning programmes, mentoring and awards for social entrepreneurs and community leaders. Overlapping programme format (workshops, learning cohorts) and audience; Firstport's LaunchMe/LaunchPad is structurally similar.
- UnLtd: UK-wide charity supporting social entrepreneurs with seed funding, awards and development support. Closely comparable product offering (Awards, Social Enterprise Support) and target beneficiary (early-stage social entrepreneurs), but operating UK-wide rather than Scotland-only.
Broad incumbents
- Social Enterprise UK: National membership body for the UK social-enterprise sector, providing policy advocacy, networking and a few direct support services. Overlapping sector focus but not a direct service-delivery competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Firstport social profiles
Digital presenceFirstport compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Firstport financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Firstport leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles20 records
Firstport subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Firstport funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Firstport M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Firstport
What does Firstport do?
Firstport is a Scottish registered charity that provides free business advice, non-repayable grant funding, and social investment (0% interest loans and revenue-based finance) to new and emerging social entrepreneurs across Scotland. It delivers this support through structured programmes covering the full social enterprise journey: investment-readiness (LaunchMe and the LaunchPad platform), seed-stage grants (Social Entrepreneurs Fund Start it/Build it/Boost it), business advisory (Just Enterprise), 0% interest loans (Step Up), larger revenue-based investment (Catalyst Fund), and an annual themed grant competition (Social Innovation Challenge).
Is Firstport a public or private company?
Firstport is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Firstport founded?
Firstport was founded in 2007. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Firstport based?
Firstport is headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Firstport make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Grant funding programmes (Social Innovation Challenge, Social Entrepreneurs Fund Start it/Build it/Boost It) is the primary driver. The others are step Up 0% interest loans, catalyst Fund revenue-based finance, programme partnership and delivery income and charitable donations and fundraising.
Who are Firstport's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Key Fund, Power to Change, Big Issue Invest, Charity Bank, Foundation Scotland, Social Investment Scotland (SIS), School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) and UnLtd. Social Enterprise UK is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Firstport have an API?
No public API is recorded for Firstport.
What industry is Firstport in?
Firstport's product category is Social Enterprise Support and Funding Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAAAJAL, Small Business & Self-Employment Personal Finance (Income, Expenses, Cash Reserves), with a secondary code of FSAGACAG, Transaction Analytics & Cash-Flow Insights (risk signals, forecasting). Its NAICS code is 522210 and its SIC code is 6159.