A loans programme for start-up firms from the British Business Bank has provided funding of £40m in Wales since being set up in 2012.
The British Business Bank, which the UK Government’s economic development bank with a UK-wide remit to provide loans and equity to firms, said the funding total is made up of 4,100 loans have been made to firms in Wales under its Start Up Loans scheme. It said investment activity in Wales was proportionate to the size of the Welsh business population to that of the UK as whole.
Over the last decade the scheme has provided just over £819m of loans to 90,552 firms across the UK.
A recipient of funding in Wales is graduate entrepreneur Aoife Dohery.
After noticing a gap in the market for eco-friendly stationery, she decided to take out a Start Up Loan of £9,000 to launch Floris a zero-waste stationery company based in Cardiff. She used the funding to help support the manufacturing of her products and design tools.
With a natural flair for creativity, she wanted to harness the skills she learnt at university and turn them into a business. In the initial phase of developing her business, she had a stall at a local market, but because of the restrictions and lockdowns she had to think on her feet about how she could keep growing her business in other ways.
She decided to host an ‘online market’ through her website, which was a huge success.
Ms Doherty said: “I came up with the idea for Floris in university. When I graduated, with lockdown the job market wasn’t particularly good, so I just thought “Now is the time to go for it and just give it everything I’ve got.
“I’m never going to have another opportunity like this. Everyone’s online shopping, let’s just go for it.
“I don’t have any regrets. This was the best decision I have ever made.”
Richard Bearman, managing director of Start-Up Loans, said: “Delivering over 90,000 loans and providing £800m of funding is a huge milestone for the programme and reflects the ambition and determination the nation’s small businesses have demonstrated over the past few years.”
“It’s brilliant to hear the stories of how Welsh business owners felt when they said ‘Yes’ to becoming their own boss. Our ambassadors often tell us that, despite how nerve-wracking it may be to start a business, saying ‘Yes’ and firmly making the decision to go for it is half the battle.”
“Start Up Loans offer many great resources for entrepreneurs on the cusp of saying ‘yes’ to starting a business.
“Our pre-loan support package, and mentoring scheme once a loan has been provided, mean all recipients are supported during one of the most exciting, but daunting, decisions of their lives.”
