An £82.5 million StartUp Loan scheme has been launched aiming to give the next generation of entrepreneurs the finance and support to potentially start over 30 thousand new businesses, in a move to boost enterprise and economic growth.
Any young people aged 18–24 accessing the StartUp Loans can expect to receive expert and personal support to help develop a business plan and access training. Where the business plan is robust and approved, they will be able to access financial support in the form of a loan typically in the order of £2,500 with a repayment period of up to five years.
According to Lord Young the newly-appointed chairman of the StartUp Loans Company not every young person that applies for the loan will be accepted, but importantly every single applicant will receive business advice and mentoring from a seasoned business person to help them construct a business plan and get their idea off the ground and running as a business.
The StartUp Loans Kit, launched by StartUp Britain and Enterprise Nation includes a recession busting £2,500 loan, and over £500 of free business essentials provided by ekmPowershop.com, PayPal, VistaPrint, KashFlow and other market leading business service providers. They’re offering capital to new businesses, as well as a boost in essentials such as ecommerce, payment processing, accounts software, business cards and more.
Antony Chesworth, owner and founder of ekmPowershop, who are participating in the StartUp Loans Kit (£500 of free business essentials provided by ekmPowershop, PayPal, VistaPrint, KashFlow and other market leading business service providers), was himself a young entrepreneur, who started ekmPowershop from his bedroom. He told us “It’s fantastic to see a scheme like StartUp Loans, and I’m happy to be involved in helping young entrepreneurs get started. When I set up ekmPowershop at 22, I was on Job Seekers’ and ran up credit card debt to get my business off the ground. If this had been around then, I would have taken advantage of all the great benefits that the Startup Britain and Enterprise Nation teams have put together. Now we’re offering some real value for these start ups by offering them a facility which can often be costly and essential in modern day business – ecommerce”
StartUp Britain is a national campaign by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, harnessing the expertise and passion of Britain’s leading businesspeople to celebrate, inspire and accelerate enterprise in the UK. Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation has worked tirelessly to kick start StartUp Britain and if you have applied for a StartUp Loan and have a StartUp Loan Kit you can redeem your offers on the Enterprise nation website.
