As well as providing access to hot-desks, meeting rooms, beauty and wellbeing treatment rooms and wraparound business support, The HIVE offers 121 coaching and mentoring. This can help with confidence and motivation, setting goals, overcoming barriers and keeping business ideas and ambitions on track to become a reality.

Set up and run by the council, The HIVE aims to encourage more local women to start up and grow their own businesses.

Since launching six months ago, more than 200 pre-start, early stage and existing female business owners have registered on The HIVE’s online platform to access the incubator’s services. And the Facebook page has almost 700 followers as word of the unique service has spread across the area.

This has resulted in 812 bookings of four-hour workspace slots, and a busy programme of learning and support events has seen more than 177 women taking part.

“The HIVE offers some of the best start-up support services in Scotland, and is designed to address key barriers that hold women back from pursuing self-employment, including caring commitments, higher levels of risk aversion, and access to finance,” said Councillor Alex McVey, Convener of the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee.

“We have created workspace that is open seven days per week from 8am until 9pm. Our weekly Funding Friday sessions provide guidance and help with council-led grant support and we have Business Gateway Advisers on site providing start-up advice and help with business and financial planning.

“Our new 121 coaching and mentoring services will plug any remaining gaps in support need, specific to women.”

The HIVE has operated on a free basis since it opened in February but is moving to a subsidised commercial model for workspace bookings from 1 September. All wraparound business support and 121 coaching and mentoring remains free.

The HIVE is supported by funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Scottish Government Pathways Pre-Start Fund.