Citizen First LCR finds and backs the Liverpool City Region's hidden entrepreneurs - people with lived experience of the health and care challenges they're solving. We provide a year's Real Living Wage salary, seed funding and specialist support, and systematically mobilise local businesses, civic bodies and public services around each entrepreneur.
Hundreds applied through our CV-less process, and over the last nine months our inaugural cohort have been supported to build innovative businesses. From robots for healthcare to apps for sleep support, from tackling the NEET crisis to addressing knife crime - even a uniquely accessible mobile hair salon. Businesses that have already secured investment, funding, commercial partnerships and revenue.
Each entrepreneur has received business experimentation training and mentoring from Public Life, expert tech support from the University of Liverpool's Virtual Engineering Centre and Civic Health Innovation Labs, and hands-on support from organisations from across the City Region - all passionate about helping LCR's hidden entrepreneurs succeed.
This is what happens when Liverpool City Region backs its own:
20x oversubscribed
90% of applicants had experience of economic disadvantage
50+ organisations
engaged in finding, supporting and backing the entrepreneurs
66% entrepeneurs
secured investment, revenue or commercial partnerships within 9 months, 33% in six months
from Childwall
Braywell
from Crosby
Inclus-Ability CIC
from Southport
Let's Be Blunt
from Toxteth
AA Health and Nutrition
