Venture Funding Hubs, an initiative to help SMEs and social enterprises get access to finance, were launched in Manchester and Sheffield by the House of Commons this week, with Liverpool tipped as being the next city to benefit.
Overseen by The Social Foundation, a project from entrepreneur and crowdfunding expert Barry James, Venture Funding Hubs will connect regional entrepreneurs with experts that can direct them to different forms of financing and encourage them to further engage with their local communities.
As well as Liverpool, other cities that will be included in the imminent second wave roll out of Venture Funding Hubs include Cambridge, Glasgow, Hull, and Leicester.
The Venture Funding Hub project has the backing of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Barry Sheerman MP, chairman of the of All Party Parliamentary group on crowdfunding and non-banking finance.
Words: Peter Cribley