Meet the Girl Grads - Scotland's new hub for young female professionals

Annabel Blackwood, a graduate of Edinburgh University, initially set up Girl Grads as Girl Grads Run in September 2023, aiming to create a running community for female graduates and young professionals living in the Scottish capital. Having secured several run club volunteers, it has rapidly evolved into a “vibrant community”. As a result, Blackwood has rebranded the initiative to Girl Grads to broaden the organisation’s goal of connecting and supporting women through “wellness, social and community engagement”.

Blackwood, who has been operating Girl Grads as a passion project while training to be a solicitor, now plans to also support her community of more than 2,000 women with advice-based events.

She said: “After graduating from Edinburgh University in 2023, I found that I missed the social network that being a student provided. I decided to set up a social, pace-inclusive run club to meet like-minded people and to have a group of friends to run with on dark evenings.

“I really couldn’t have imagined what Girl Grads has evolved into since we first launched. I’ve loved building a female community in Edinburgh and helping each other to navigate life in our 20s.”

Blackwood made use of Business Gateway’s Planning To Start tool to see about the best structure for the community group. She was then connected with local business adviser Lee Briggs, who provided support with mentoring, and how to develop a business plan for Girl Grads. Blackwood has now decided on a clear legal structure for Girl Grads and also identified opportunities for growth in 2025.

Briggs, Business Gateway adviser, said: “It’s great to work with someone like Annabel who is so passionate about making a difference and supporting women in the community. Girl Grads has proved to be extremely popular and I’ve no doubt it will continue to grow in the months ahead.”

Business Gateway works with a variety of organisations, including the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, to help deliver advice and support to Scottish businesses.