Grow down before you grow up
Support for social ventures rooted in local communities, from the first idea to an established business.
Ideas rooted in local communities
Why Radicle
The first root a seed puts out
A radicle grows down before any shoot appears, anchoring the plant and finding water. Social ventures that last start the same way, deep in the people and place they serve.
Who it's for
Anyone with an idea for good
If you have an idea for a business that puts people, planet and community benefit alongside profit, Radicle is for you. You don't need a business plan, a company or any experience of running one.
- Unemployed
- Self-employed
- Changing career
- Volunteers
- Community groups
- Charities exploring trading
How Radicle grows
Four strands, one programme
StartUp is open for interest now. The others will follow, so you can grow with Radicle from first idea to scale. Open a strand to find out more.
Hack days where people come together to spot problems in their community and shape ideas with the people affected by them. You don't need an idea of your own to take part.
- Format
- One-day hack
- Open to
- Anyone, idea or not
- You leave with
- An idea tested with real people
Workshops and 1-2-1 support to put your idea on firm ground: the steps to set up, how to fund and trade, and who can help along the way.
- Format
- Workshops and 1-2-1s
- Open to
- Anyone at the ideas stage
- You leave with
- A plan and an adviser in your corner
What you'll cover
- Setting up a social enterpriseThe steps, the legal forms and the decisions to make early.
- People who want the same changeMeet others locally working on ideas for their community.
- Funding, trading and growthHow social ventures earn income, raise funding and measure impact.
- The support around youWhich funders, agencies and networks can help, and how to approach them.
- Founders who've done itHear from people who have set up successful social enterprises.
- A 1-2-1 afterwardsBook time with a business adviser to work through your plans.
Ecosystem mapping of local social ventures, funders, councils and support organisations, and a network that links them so ventures can share what works and find each other.
- Format
- Mapping sessions and a network
- Open to
- Ventures, funders and support bodies
- You leave with
- Connections that last
An accelerator for established social ventures ready to scale their impact and income, with investment readiness, mentoring and peer support.
- Format
- Accelerator cohort
- Open to
- Trading social ventures
- You leave with
- Investment readiness and a plan to scale
Put down your first root
Leave your details and we'll be in touch when dates and locations are confirmed. It doesn't matter how early your idea is.
Free to register, and it doesn't commit you to anything.
We'll ask a few questions about you and your idea, so we can point you to the right support.