From Margins to Markets: Call for participants
Aged 18 to 30 and want to turn your ideas into action while making a real difference in your community?
Rural Design Centre, in partnership with Northumbria University, is running a unique international project connecting young people in North East England with peers in Mexico to develop green business ideas that work for rural communities like ours.
What you'll do
Over six months (February-July 2026), you'll work in small teams to create and test real business ideas that tackle local challenges while protecting our environment. Think: transforming waste into resources, supporting local food systems, or another innovative combination of the skills you have and your community needs.
You'll learn proven entrepreneurship methods used by successful startups worldwide – but adapted for communities like ours that have been overlooked by traditional business support. To participate, you need to be able to attend the workshops and commit to working with a team to develop a business. Curiosity, commitment, and enthusiasm are the important ingredients. The project will provide a bursary to support travel, accessibility costs and potential seed funding where your idea shows real promise.
The program includes:
Five intensive workshop days covering circular economy principles, business basics, and how to test your ideas with real customers
Team-based learning with 3 to 4 other local participants, plus mentors who understand rural challenges
Monthly team sessions to develop your venture with expert support from Rural Design Centre facilitators
Bi-weekly international exchanges connecting with youth teams in Mexico who are working on similar challenges in their rural communities – sharing experiences, comparing approaches, and building international networks
Hands-on prototyping where you'll test your ideas with local people and businesses
What you'll gain
Skills that travel with you:
Entrepreneurship fundamentals: spotting opportunities, understanding customers, testing assumptions
Business planning that works in the real world
Confidence to turn ideas into action
Problem-solving with limited resources
International collaboration and cross-cultural perspectives
Ongoing support beyond the project:
Connections to regional business networks including Enterprising North East, Northumbria University Business Incubator, and Northern Accelerator
Pathways into further training and business support programs
Certificate of participation
A network of other young people tackling similar challenges
What makes this different
Most training programs are designed for cities, for people with advantages we don't have. This project recognizes that rural communities in North East England face unique challenges but hold valuable knowledge about working with nature and making things last.
You'll be developing your ventures here in the North East while Mexican youth teams work in parallel in their communities. Through regular exchanges, you'll share what's working, compare approaches, and learn from each other's experiences – building international connections while staying rooted in your own community.
The strongest teams will receive seed funding to launch their ventures, with continued mentoring support and direct links to established business support organisations.
Who should apply
We're particularly interested in:
People from all genders (we're committed to an equitable gender mix)
People who've struggled to find their place in traditional education or employment
Anyone with ideas about how our communities could work better
Those who want to create opportunities here rather than having to leave
You don't need:
Business experience
Formal qualifications
Perfect answers
You do need:
Commitment to show up
Willingness to try things that might not work
Openness to learning from others
Ready to get started?
Contact: Katie Aitken-McDermott
Email: katieaitken-mcdermott@ruraldesigncentre.com
Applications close: Friday 27 February 2026