How Firstport made ID checks simpler for Scotland’s social entrepreneurs

Firstport is Scotland’s agency for social enterprise. Every year, its team supports people who want to build businesses that solve local challenges, strengthen communities and make meaningful social impact.

From zero-waste shops and community cafés to childcare providers and environmental projects, these founders come from all walks of life. Some are young. Some are new to business. Many are launching their first venture to solve a very real problem close to home.

To award grants, loans and other support, Firstport needs to check who applicants are. That safeguard is vital for preventing fraud and meeting regulatory requirements. But it can unintentionally slow things down.

Reliably verifying young people

Firstport’s previous system didn’t work well for under-18s, and gave limited flexibility for applicants without traditional forms of ID.

Young entrepreneurs in particular often had no passport or driving licence, even though they were otherwise fully eligible for support.

Dealing with that gap meant delays and extra admin. Staff had to collect alternative documents manually, go back and forth with applicants, and troubleshoot issues that were not their fault. It was workable, but it was not fast or inclusive.

Adapting to local context

Firstport needed a solution that could verify identity securely, digitally, and flexibly. Something that could meet compliance needs and also adapt to the local context.

By integrating Vouchsafe, Firstport can now accept a much wider range of identity evidence automatically, including the popular Young Scot card, immediately removing one of the biggest barriers for younger founders.

Vouchsafe handles secure evidence collection, biometric checks and screening for hundreds of document types from almost 200 countries.

The platform is nearly completely automatic, only flagging verifications that cannot be recovered automatically, like where a user has failed background screening.

“What particularly attracted us to Vouchsafe is their commitment to digital inclusion and the ability to accept non-standard forms of ID. We work with individuals who for many reasons may not be able to complete traditional ID checks, but who we really want to support as they are passionate entrepreneurs making a difference in their communities.”

— Lauren Scott, Investment Manager at Firstport

Real efficiency and inclusion gains

In the first months of use, only one out of 96 applicants had trouble getting verified, and that was due to the type of ID uploaded. Everything else went through smoothly.

This has led to:

• Faster onboarding for applicants anywhere in Scotland
• A reliable way to verify younger applicants to Firstport’s Social Entrepreneurs Fund
• Far fewer manual checks and document chases
• Less time spent on paperwork, more time spent advising and encouraging entrepreneurs

For Firstport, this is about living their principle that no one gets left behind. When applicants can verify their identity in minutes, support moves faster and bottlenecks disappear.

“Vouchsafe offers a streamlined and efficient way to monitor verification statuses and promptly flags any cases requiring further review. This significantly reduces the administrative burden of manually checking individual records and managing multiple supporting documents. We have full confidence in Vouchsafe’s ability to manage our KYC checks reliably and securely.”

— Firstport team member

Ready to scale Scotland’s impact sector

Scotland’s social entrepreneurs are building businesses that put people and communities first. By removing friction from the basics, Firstport can focus on what matters to them: helping founders turn good ideas into real impact.

If your organisation faces similar challenges with ID checks or onboarding, contact chloe@vouchsafe.id to see how Vouchsafe can help you widen access without hurting compliance.