The Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility has written to South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous, last week to say that 77 new South West Bedfordshire businesses have received financial support from the Government’s Start-Up Loans initiative with a total value of £526,180 over the last six years between March 2012 and July 2018. The scheme helps groups who might find it harder to access finance from commercial lenders. 39% of these entrepreneurs who have been helped are women and 21% are from an ethnic minority background, as compared with 19% and 4% in the small and medium enterprise sector as a whole. The Government is increasing its support for the Start-Up Loan scheme throughout this Parliament.
The Government is also helping ensure small businesses get their bills paid on time with the amount of late payment debts owed to small and medium enterprises being halved from £30.3 billion to £14.2 billion over the last five years, according to BACS (Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services).
Andrew Selous said
“Starting your own business takes courage, determination and tenacity and it is great to see these local entrepreneurs being given this help to make their businesses become a reality. I welcome the extension of the scheme.”