A YOUNG entrepreneur from Dumbarton has won funding for her business idea in an online competition modelled on the TV show Dragon’s Den.

Rachael Walker won £100 to develop her proposal ‘Send Me A Little Love’, which involves people sending a bracelet to someone else with a positive message.

These bracelets will cost £5, with materials being bought from local businesses to support them during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At Rachael’s choosing, profits from sales of her bracelets will go to The Trussell Trust, which runs food banks across the UK was chosen by the Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School pupil because food banks are in high demand.

The 15-year-old pupil of Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School told the Reporter how she was inspired to make the bracelets after she was given the opportunity to enter the competition through her business class at school.

She said: “I chose this idea because right now more than ever I thought that people need some joy in their lives and I thought by making the bracelets that is what they will do.”

Five pupils from across Scotland won funding in the Social Enterprise Academy’s Online Dragons’ Den competition, which is part of the Community Champions Challenge, set up in response to Covid-19 as a way for young people to support their community while developing their own skills.

The five winners and five runners-up were chosen from 56 applications and were invited to pitch their ideas through in a creative way – ranging from presentations, videos, business plans, prototypes and design drawings.

Emily Mnyayi, head of education at the Social Enterprise Academy, said: “We’re delighted to be able to keep supporting young people across Scotland through this challenge. The context young people are learning in has changed drastically over the last few months – supporting them to engage with their community is more important now than ever before.

“Social enterprise is an ideal way for young people to develop skills, explore how they can take action, make a difference and connect with their community.

“We can’t wait to see how they develop their brilliant social enterprise ideas with the support we have put in place.”