THE first young people to receive funding from a gin whose profits are reinvested into good causes are leaving the UK this weekend to take part in demanding volunteer programmes in Africa.

It’s the latest success for the Edinburgh-based pioneering social enterprise gin Ginerosity, which was launched last year to support young adults into training and education.

Earlier this week, Ginerosity was shortlisted in two categories in the inaugural Scottish Gin Awards.

The company, which produces a London dry gin made with 10 ethically sourced botanicals, said it was confident that many more young adults would be able to benefit from Ginerosity funding in future.

The six young adults, who are from across the UK, will travel to Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Ghana, where they will work for a local social enterprise business as part of a UK Government-funded volunteer programme run by Edinburgh-based charity Challenges Worldwide and the International Citizen Service.

Aimed at growing local economies and providing vocational training, the 10-week programme enables the young people to develop key business skills and undertake the course work for an industry-recognised qualification, while also enabling the businesses to access social investment. The first round of Ginerosity profits was shared out in April, with entrants having to make a short video application for the funding.

Joanna Gillan, a City of Glasgow College student from East Kilbride, said she was delighted at receiving the award from Ginerosity.

“I was ecstatic, really, really happy,” she said. “ I’ve never had a grant before. So it was completely new, and meant I completed my fundraising target.”

Daniel Searle, from Essex, said he couldn’t wait for the experience and to “get started and sink my teeth into this project as it’s all starting to get real”, adding that the Ginerosity funding had been an “incredible” contribution to the trip and would enable him to achieve a business management qualification from the Chartered Management Institution (CMI).

Searle also said he hoped to see more companies setting up as social enterprises, adding that he was keen to set up his own social enterprise in the future.

Kyle Cousins, from South Lanarkshire, said the Ginerosity award had been a “massive confidence boost” and he was even more excited about the trip as the opportunity to attain the CMI qualification meant he would gain more from the experience. Katie Roberts, from Merseyside, said she would not have been able to achieve the CMI qualification without Ginerosity’s help, adding that it would be an enormous boost to her CV and give her a step up while trying to find a job.

Sarah Hamilton, from Leicester, said she “expected the experience to open up further opportunities”.

David Moore, one of Ginerosity’s founders and chief executive of Flavourly.com, wished them luck and added: “There is still a perception that these types of volunteer programmes, or even just going overseas, is out of reach to many young people, and is reserved for those from better-off backgrounds.

“We don’t believe that’s the case and we’re very excited to be working with our charity partners Challenges Worldwide and our main funders Resilient Scotland to challenge that perception.”