Shifting London Trade Up
Overview
If you’re leading a mission-driven organisation in London and you’re ready to increase your trading income, this is your next bold step.
Shifting London Trade Up is a hands-on, human-centred learning programme from the School for Social Entrepreneurs. Over six months, you’ll get practical support, expert insight and a powerful peer network to help you grow your impact — and your income. We want to help you to reach new markets, develop new products and services and build resilience teams.
The programme is funded by the Mayor of London and UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) proactively supports delivery of the UK-government’s five national missions: pushing power out to communities everywhere, with a specific focus to help kickstart economic growth and promoting opportunities in all parts of the UK. More info can be found on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund webpage and GLA UK Shared Prosperity Fund webpage.
Who it’s for
This programme is designed for social purpose organisations with an income over £15,000 in the last year. You might be running a community business, charity, CIC, co-op, or a for-profit with purpose. If your work benefits Londoners and you’re ready to grow, we want to hear from you.
We’re especially keen to support leaders from organisations tackling the big issues facing London today: climate change, inequality, poverty, health, housing, crime and unemployment.
What’s included
Across nine energising learning days (a mix of online and in-person sessions) you’ll work on the core areas that help organisations trade more confidently and sustainably. That means strategy, finance, impact, leadership, marketing and more.
You’ll be learning alongside a group of peers who truly get the challenges and rewards of running a mission-led organisation. Together, you’ll reflect, plan, swap insights and build lasting relationships.
We’ll also support you to explore new products or services, and connect with new markets, all with the aim of helping you unlock income and resilience for the long term.
How it helps
You’ll leave this programme with practical tools and a clear sense of direction. That might look like launching something new, improving how your team works, or reaching customers in a completely different way.
More than anything, it’s about building your confidence to grow; not just in size, but in strength, sustainability and self-belief.
Key dates
The programme runs from September 2025 to February 2026, with sessions designed to fit around your existing work. Some sessions are in person (London-based), others are online — always backed by resources on the SSE Community platform.
Come to an information session to find out more
We’re running two online information sessions where you can come and find out all about the programme: how to apply, who’s eligible and everything else that you need to know:
Monday 19th May 16:00 – 16:30– register here
Tuesday 10th June 14:00-14:30pm – register here
Apply now
Applications close at 12pm on 30th June 2025. The process is simple: complete a short expression of interest and we’ll send you an application pack including an application form.