Nineteen entrepreneurs, eight of them from the Falmouth and Helston areas, graduated from the Cornwall School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE Cornwall) at a celebration event held at the Eden Project.

SSE Cornwall’s largest cohort to date, consisting of entrepreneurs from across the county, graduated from the flagship 2014/15 Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme, a year-long initiative that provides participants with a comprehensive learning and financial support package, including a business mentoring and tutorial scheme.

Having successfully completed the programme, each graduate will now receive a Start-Up grant of £4,000 from the Lloyds Bank programme, enabling them to grow and develop their social enterprises and start planning for the future.

Paula Rogers, enterprise programme lead for Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We’ve seen hundreds of students with incredible social enterprises graduate through the programme and, this year is no exception. I’ve been honoured to meet and work alongside such inspirational people who’ve demonstrated a real desire to make a difference to their communities and environment, and it’s been fantastic to have played a role in helping social enterprise deliver such a positive impact on society."

Sally Heard, SSE Cornwall CEO, added: “Our Lloyds Bank for Social Entrepreneurs Programme has once again supported a group of 19 incredible and inspirational social entrepreneurs to develop their projects from a very early idea into start-up social businesses. We are delighted to celebrate their achievements so far and wish them every success as they lead their enterprises into the next stage of their journey and begin a long association as a prestigious ‘Fellow’ of School for Social Entrepreneurs Cornwall.”