Rural Community Gateway

Keynote speakers were Minister for Enterprise, energy and Tourism Jim Mather and Councillor Dick Walsh, Leader of Argyll and Bute Council. The event took place over two days (28th - 30th January 2008), and featured a range of workshops, case studies and keynote speeches.

In ABSEN’s version of the popular television series ‘Dragon’s Den’, £11,000 worth of prizes were awarded to local social enterprises who competed against each other to win over judges.

Social enterprises are businesses which have social or environmental objectives, alongside commercial ones. Social enterprises are not for profit - any profits are reinvested in the business or community and don’t go to share holders or owners.

ABSEN work with over 70 social enterprises in Argyll and Bute. Minister Jim Mather paid tribute to the work being done by social enterprises in the area. He said, "Social enterprises have a long rich history in Argyll and Bute and this idea of self-help and entrepreneurial character fits well with the strong sense of community in the constituency.

"I congratulate the Argyll and Bute Social Enterprise Network for organising this event and I want to underline the Scottish Government commitment to supporting this sector; overall, funding for the Third Sector, which includes social enterprise, will increase by just over 37 per cent and that will be worth some £93 million over the next three years. Social enterprises have the capacity to deliver local solutions to local problems and to bring dynamism to the way services are delivered locally. This significant increase in funding reflects the Scottish Government’s confidence in the sector and our commitment to it."

Dragon’s Den winners

The winners in the Dragon’s Den part of the event were as follows.
Category 1: New and emerging social enterprises
1st place (£2000) Aaron Cyr and Andy Ferguson of the Cowal Music Group, Dunoon
2nd place (£1000) Claire Berry of the Arran Voice, Arran

Category 2: Review time
1st place (£2000) James Hilder of Mull Butchers Ltd, Isle of Mull
2nd place (£1000) Peter Creech and Phil Hemmings of Ford Community Project Ltd, Ford

Category 3: New developments
1st place (£2000) Neil Matheson of Atlantis Leisure, Oban
2nd place (£1000) Mairie MacKinnon of Mull & Iona Environmentally Sensitive Solutions

Special prize awarded by the Social Enterprise Academy
A course worth about £1500 entitled ‘Starting your social business’ was awarded to David Miles Hanschell of Surplus Educational Supplies.

The event was sponsored by the Scottish Government Third Sector Division, Communities Scotland, with support from Argyll and Bute Council.

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