Upstarts 2008 Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2008 Upstarts Awards!

Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year

Lily Lapenna

Since leaving school Lily has dedicated her time to helping others, whether that has meant teaching in Zimbabwe, raising money for tsunami victims or setting up her own social enterprise. Her enthusiasm and hard work over her last project particularly impressed the judges. MyBnk is a banking scheme which helps young people to manage their money and to access interest-free loans for enterprising activities.

52 nominations
12 comments
13 March 2008

Social Entrepreneur of the Year

Carmel McConnell

Carmel founded Magic Breakfast, a child nutrition charity which delivers free, healthy breakfast food to 38 primary schools, currently feeding 1,300 children each morning. Many of these would otherwise start their school day too hungry to learn. To part fund this, Carmel designed and now runs Magic Outcomes Ltd, a leadership development firm. The judges were troubled to learn the UK’s terrible track record on child nutrition. Carmel’s work has done much to tackle this important issue.

1 nomination
0 comments
17 May 2008

Social Enterprise of the Year

Forth Sector

Forth Sector is one of Scotland’s leading social enterprises. It works to reduce exclusion, discrimination and disadvantage faced by people with mental health problems by creating supportive employment opportunities. On top of this, Forth Sector Development shares the experience of running these social firms to assist others develop their own initiatives. The judges felt Forth Sector is an especially deserving finalist because it is not just a highly successful social enterprise in its own right – it also because it helps to develop others.

1 nomination
0 comments
16 May 2008

Social Enterprise Mentor of the Year

Uday Thakkar

Uday offers mentoring and advice through the company he founded and manages, Red Ochre. His knowledge and enthusiasm inspire a large number of social entrepreneurs to realise their potential and to succeed. All of those who nominated him talked of his positive impact not only on their business but also their confidence and self-esteem. The judges recognised his dedication and determination to go the extra mile, and the impact he has made.

Social Enterprise Trainee of the Year

Chris Llewellyn

Chris' strength and resilience have made him a cornerstone in the success of Rafi.ki, an online learning community. In one year he has brought over 400 schools onto Rafi.ki's network, a remarkable feat for any employee. Not only has he developed quickly and to an impressive standard, he has done this in the wake of an accident which left him paralysed a few years ago. He has developed sales, management and diplomacy skills, and now mentors and trains interns, passing on what he has learnt. The judges were inspired by Chris's development and his ability to already have had such an impact on the people he works with.

The Edge StartUp Award

Beef Kitchen

The Beef Kitchen was established by former homeless ex-Servicemen in 2005, all of whom are residents at the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation. The enterprise now provides 25 former homeless ex-Servicemen with training and work experience. Capitalising on its close proximity to Chelsea Football Club, Beef Kitchen has established a business selling good quality food to fans on match days. Three years after it began, the Beef Kitchen has now fed some 20,000 football fans and is now due to take this successful business model and set-up a commercially viable café by Putney Bridge.