Applications have been opened for round two of ScaleUP, the incubator programme for ‘global majority’-owned brands that’s run by the (Fashion) Minority Report (FMR) in partnership with ASOS.

Global majority refers to people of African, Asian, indigenous, Latin American, or mixed-heritage backgrounds who comprise 85% of the world’s population. And ScaleUP is designed to help bridge the gap between the fashion industry and those brands that “continue to face barriers in accessing the fashion market and scaling up their business operations”.

The programme provides successful candidates with support including insight and guidance from industry experts, mentorship, wholesale opportunities, the opportunity to pitch for funding help in developing a long-term strategy.

Applications for ScaleUP will be open until 3 April. They’ll be reviewed and shortlisted by a panel of judges including  Daniel Peters, FMR founder; ASOS’s creative EVP Vanessa Spence, and its partner brand director Shazmeen Malik; plus the BFC’s Head of designer initiatives and education, Katie Rawle, with more judges to be announced soon.

The inaugural programme debuted in 2023 and FMR and ASOS have learnt from that experience saying that this year “every brand selected as a finalist will be supported in scaling up their business through masterclasses in marketing, finance and wholesale”. 

Meanwhile the overall winning brand will receive an investment of £20,000 and their collection will be sold on ASOS.com, with a second place winner receiving £10,000 to scale up their brand. 

The 2023 launch programme saw 100 applications with11 applicants being shortlisted and six brands receiving expert guidance and mentoring. 

The two final winners of the first programme were womenswear specialists Isabelle Pennington Edmead and Taideux. The latter has already launched on ASOS.com, while Isabelle Pennington Edmead will launch this spring.