Social impact fund manager Resonance launches £10m fund to back social enterprises in Liverpool city region and across the North West. Tony McDonough reports
Social enterprises in Liverpool city region are being invited to apply to a new £10m fund covering the North West.
Social impact fund manager Resonance has launched the Resonance Enterprise Investment (REI) fund. This will offer various finance options to organisations tackling some of the country’s most pressing challenges.
These include improving health and wellbeing, reducing economic inequality and the transition to a low-carbon economy.
REI aims to empower social enterprises that often struggle to access the right kind of investment by giving them access to funding to scale their work and deliver tangible benefits to communities.
Leila Sharland, acting head of growing enterprises at Resonance, said: “Social enterprises are driving real change, but they often face barriers to growth. REI is designed to remove those barriers.
“Our goal is to help these organisations expand their impact, improve lives and create a better living environment.”
This fund launch follows the success of Resonance’s Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) and growth funds, which made 123 investments, with £9.9m previously raised from 145 investors.
Investors including Unity Trust Bank, Enterprise for Development and The Ceniarth UK Foundation, have already pledged to back the new fund.
Example initiatives that could attract investment through the REI Fund include a small social enterprise brewery expanding to create employment and support for adults with learning disabilities and autism and registering a domically care team.
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Also, in the pipeline for the fund, is a community wood project that trains people experiencing long-term unemployment whilst also offering local people access to high quality reused wood.
The fund also benefits from the Growth Guarantee Scheme, provided by British Business Bank, and a substantial Access (the foundation for social investment) grant. Both are designed to lower the cost of capital to recipients of investment from the fund, enhancing affordability.
Reinald de Monchy, chief banking officer at the British Business Bank, added: “One of our key priorities is supporting smaller businesses in underserved communities across the UK.
“It’s good to see Resonance Enterprise Investment fund utilising our Growth Guarantee Scheme to help achieve that goal.”