Social enterprise Ceilidh

On the 17th and 18th of November I attended the 7th Social Enterprise Conference and Ceilidh. The event went very well – 110 attendees (82 from social enterprises) - combining a good mix of older and newer faces. Its was a great opportunity to meet up with other social entrepreneurs and catch up on everyone's progress. Highlight of the day was the Dragon's Den event where there were six contestants all fighting for the big £5k prize. Winners were Strange Theatre (Dragons’ Den: £5k) and Stranraer Millennium Centre (Audience £1,400). Everyone of the contestants performed well under the pressure of the dragons. I know from personal experience what a challange it is to present your ideas to the dragons in front of an audience. More importantly, there seemed to be a great deal of consensus about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for Scotland’s grassroots social enterprise community.