The Start Up loan scheme provides financial support and guidance to business start ups looking to establish themselves, and has reached £130 million in funds loaned to new companies.
The Start Up Loan Company reports that more than 32,000 new jobs have been generated by the scheme since it’s inception in 2012.
The 25,000th loan was awarded to Nicola Weeks from Bedford, the latest female entrepreneur to start a business through the government initiative.
Support for local and small businesses is integral to the government’s long-term economic plans, according to Prime Minister David Cameron:
“That’s what our Start Up Loans are all about – it’s great news that 25,000 loans have now been issued, giving people who want to work hard and get on the tools and confidence to turn their entrepreneurial vision into a reality,
Business Secretary Vince Cable says:
“Helping businesses to access the funds they need to grow is key to our recovery and through schemes like Start Up Loans the government is supporting serious volumes of lending to small and medium-sized businesses.”
Chairman of the Start Up Loans Company, James Caan, added:
‘The creation of 25,000 new businesses is a significant achievement and everyone involved – the government, the Start Up Loans Company, and the loan recipients themselves, should be immensely proud.”
Nicola Weeks applied for a loan of £8,500 in order to finance her wedding business, George James Bridal.
She says:
“I received my Start Up Loan through Foundation East and found the process very efficient and straightforward. The help I received from my mentor was absolutely brilliant. I’m so delighted to achieve my dream of running my own boutique and I’m honoured to be the 25,000th new business started by the scheme.”
For more information on how to apply please visit the Start Up Loans government page.
Words: Peter Cribley