£15,000 funding for Campbeltown quartet of business entrepreneurs

A TRIO of cultural enterprises and a gardening firm have dug up funding of £15,000 from a programme to develop business ideas.

The funding is part of a package of support from Vital Spark, a programme delivered by Firstport with support from UnLtd Scotland which works with people in Dunoon, Rothesay and Campbeltown to start new social enterprises.

The entrepreneurs include David Fee, who received £3,450 for his enterprise Homesong, a network of hosts and performers in rural areas; Gordon Allen, received £4,000 for Wee Toon Environmental Services that offers services such as garden maintenance and landscaping while providing work placements and training for unemployed people; Chris Annetts received £4,200 to develop Kyt Cat, a youth theatre; and Pamela Galbraith, received £4,250 to develop Kintyre Cultural Connections, which will rejuvenate the ceilidh and heritage culture by starting international exchanges of music, storytelling and food.

Pamela said: ‘The funding will enable me to explore and experiment with reviving the natural way of learning about our local culture and heritage and forge links with other cultures, both with people living in Campbeltown and with those in other countries to enrich all of our lives.’

In addition to financial support, the Vital Spark programme offers participants access to business support, mentoring from industry experts and free workspace in one of the local hubs.

Karen McGregor, chief executive of Firstport, said: ‘We welcome the support from UnLtd Scotland and it is great to see many Vital Spark participants receive the funding to help them on their journey.

‘These seed funds will give them a well deserved confidence boost and will allow them to really test, refine and develop their businesses so they become sustainable enterprises.’

Several other entrepreneurs who are part of the Vital Spark programme in Dunoon and Rothesay also received awards.