Enterprise in Place

Scotland has a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem, yet women currently make up only one-third of self-employed people, with significantly lower rates in rural areas, deprived communities, and certain age groups.

​The Melting Pot is a female-founded, woman-led enterprise. We know that women change the world. The Enterprise in Place project sets out to start dismantling the barriers women entrepreneurs face to starting a project, business or enterprise. 

We want to rewrite the story. 

We imagine a Scotland where women are supported by a network of community-focused, independent workspaces that foster mutual support and collaboration, and drive local economic development and social regeneration. 

That’s where Connected Hubs began, and Enterprise in Place continues…   

So, what is Enterprise in Place? 

Enterprise in Place is a co-created place-based programme of enterprise support for women and non-binary people in three contrasting communities delivered from November 2025 to March 2026.  

It will pilot a personalised approach to enterprise support so we can help female entrepreneurs in Scotland thrive. 

Alongside Community Connectors, we will co-design and embed inclusive, locally rooted enterprise support within Glasgow, Dunoon, and East Kilbride.  

Tailored to the needs of the audience in these communities, support will include childcare and travel stipends, digital access help to overcome barriers to participation.  

Support will be delivered in partnership with The Melting Pot, Elevator UK, Firstport, and Connected Hubs Scotland, and is funded by The Ecosystem Pathways Fund. 

Communities in focus 

  • In Glasgow, we’ll be supporting women aged 50+ at a career transition, affected by job losses in retail, care, and administration, automation, and age bias. Go to the Glasgow Project Page. Enterprise In Place : Glasgow
  • In Dunoon, it’s women returners and unpaid carers, who may have had long career breaks, or suffer from low confidence or limited opportunities. Go to the Dunoon Project Page. 
  • In East Kilbride, we’ll be supporting young women and non-binary people aged 18-30, helping them explore self-employment with limited local role models. Go to the East Kilbride Project Page. 

Programme design principles 

The project is based on four interconnected design principles: 

  1. Local navigation through Community Connectors – in each area, we have partnered with trusted, locally embedded facilitators who provide outreach, personalised support and legacy.  
  2. Co-creation in context – the programme design and delivery will be shaped through Listening Labs, where participants influence the content, timing, and structure of support to suit their lives (e.g., care schedules, transport access). 
  3. Pick-n-mix flexibility – participants choose from a menu of interventions such as workshops (e.g. finance, marketing, AI, business models), networking, coaching, and a cross-cohort Challenge Weekend for applied learning. 
  4. National ecosystem integration – participants will become connected into Scotland’s entrepreneurial infrastructure through delivery partners: Elevator, Firstport and Connected Hubs – to sustain progress after the pilot. 

Project outcomes 

Across the three locations, 75 participants will take part in 16–20 tailored activities. The programme aims to develop business knowledge, build confidence, and support women to develop an actionable plan. 

Project legacy 

Beyond the immediate outcomes, the legacy of Enterprise in Place will be ensured in three ways: 

  1. We will share stories of local women – the realities of enterprise in these underserved communities – and their journeys in a Digital Storybook. 
  2. We will use our learnings to develop a replicable framework for meaningfully co-creating enterprise support in communities in a Practical Toolkit.  
  3. Based on the findings from the project, we will provide recommendations for funders and policymakers through a Policy Paper.  

If you would like to participate in the programmes in Glasgow, East Kilbride or Dunoon, please visit their pages via the links above and complete the form, so your Community Connector can be in touch with you.

If you are interested to find out more about Enterprise in Place, please contact Helen Denny, at helen@themeltingpotedinburgh.org.uk