Emerging social enterprises that train homeless people to become tour guides, support food banks and teach digital skills to disadvantaged young people will join an innovative tech and social entrepreneur hub in Manchester city centre this month.
A total of seven organisations have been supported to move into co-working space at The Federation.
The Federation was built with the purpose to manifest positive change and collectively cultivate an ethical, equitable and inclusive digital and social landscape for all.
In addition to up to four free desk spaces each for the next 12 months, the new residents will also benefit from building relationships with other local teams committed to using technology and innovation to create positive change in communities.
Support is provided by The Federation and Co-op Foundation, thanks to a grant from Luminate, part of The Omidyar Group.
The new residents include Bounceback Food CIC, which fights food poverty by teaching people how to cook and donating to foodbanks; COIN (Cohesion and Integration Network), a national professional network of individuals and organisations that will champion integration and cohesion locally, nationally and internationally, especially via a digital platform; Digital Advantage CIC, which provides industry-led digital training and work experience to young people in Greater Manchester and beyond including a dedicated programme for special educational needs and disability schools and students; Fluidkeys, which builds software to help developers, journalists and activists protect sensitive information with simple, strong encryption; Invisible Manchester, which works with people who have been affected by homelessness and trains them to become walking tour guides; Noisy Cricket, which builds people-powered movements to achieve social impact, through bringing diverse groups – including businesses, charities and the public sector – together with impacted people to develop and deliver innovative solutions for equality; and PIE (Pursuing Individual Excellence), which supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to improve their communication and digital skills through coaching sessions and workshops.
“The Federation’s social entrepreneur hub is bringing together some of Manchester’s most exciting start-ups and emerging social enterprises and helping them share ideas and support each other to grow,” said Jim Cooke, head of the Co-op Foundation.
“We’re delighted to welcome seven more teams into the Federation’s innovative work space and we look forward to seeing the impact that a stable place to work and peer support will have in the coming months.”