We make a difference

Across Scotland and around the world there is an emerging movement of social enterprises and mission-led businesses with social impact at the core of their operations. From solving challenging issues such as food waste or education attainment, we have helped companies like Lingo Flamingo and Giraffe Healthcare to pursue social causes.

We are nurturing a growing wave of climate-conscious entrepreneurs who are responding to one of the greatest threats of our time – the climate emergency. We have supported companies including SolarisKit, Carbogenics and Seawater Solutions in their mission to create a greener, cleaner planet.

Pre-pandemic, we were on track to achieve full gender parity with female entrepreneurs making up nearly half of all successful entries in 2019 (or 49%).

Following this recent setback, we are making progress towards gender balance with 38% of 2022 applications coming from women.

At Converge, we continue to buck the trend by attracting a high number of applications from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

In 2022, for instance, 37% of applicants and 21% of programme participants identified as ethnically diverse  - well above the 9% average representation in Scottish universities.

As an outward-looking organisation, we continue to attract a high percentage of international participants – roughly half of the total pool – since our inception in 2011. Making Scotland a key destination for international students, researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs.

We are privileged to be part of a dynamic ecosystem, sharing synergies and common goals with many like-minded organisations. By joining forces and combining knowledge, skills and experience, we accomplish far more than if we simply worked alone. Find out more about some of our collaborations here.