Since we launched our Start Up Loans (SUL) scheme in 2012 more than 4,300 loans have been made to ambitious Welsh entrepreneurs, with a value of over £43m.
This money has been provided to start-ups all over Wales, across all sectors, demonstrating tangible evidence of the flourishing Welsh start-up scene, and its desire for finance.
Our Start Up Loans programme provides UK Government-backed loans of up to £25,000 per individual, up to a maximum of £100,000 per business, facilitated through delivery partners like Business in Focus.
To date our Start Up Loans programme has assisted some of Wales’ most exciting start-ups. Take for example multi-award-winning non-alcoholic brewer, Drop Bear Beer Co, who at the beginning of their journey in 2019 utilised a Start Up Loan to contribute towards the capital costs of brewing their products. Co-founders Joelle Drummond and Sarah McNena then went on to secure a further £2.1m investment. They’ve now achieved B Corp status, are building the world’s first carbon neutral alcohol-free brewery in south Wales, their products are stocked in Tesco and exported internationally.
Another company we have been excited to support via our Start Up Loans programme is Dragon Fire & Water. Led by two firefighters, they provide fire and water services to special effects companies and art departments operating in the TV and film industries. The company is already working with Disney Lucasfilm and the BBC on a number of productions.
Another recipient of a Start Up Loan is Abergavenny-based sustainable sportswear brand, Dryad, who have also just been named as the new Welsh ambassadors for the Start Up Loans programme. Owners, Matt, a triathlete and outdoors-enthusiast, and Joby, a designer with a passion for running, took out a loan of £25,000 in April 2021 to launch Dryad. Since the birth of the company, Dryad has collaborated with apparel design company SSEAMS to create a line of women’s activewear using recycled fabrics that have a fully traceable value chain.
It is stories like these that are the reason behind the recently announced expansion of the Start Up Loans programme, which is amplifying its scope to include start-ups that have been trading for up to three years, as well as introducing a new growth loan option for businesses that have been trading for up to five years.
The expansion is also intended to back businesses who need extra support during a time of continued economic unrest. This extension of the programme will enable us to work with those businesses that had perhaps just got going when the pandemic hit, or are ready to scale up now that they are back on their feet. We want to ensure that these businesses do not get left behind.
The Start Up Loans programme provides a fixed interest rate of 6%, as well as mentoring, support and funding to aspiring business owners in every corner of the United Kingdom. Its impact has been particularly noticeable among individuals who might find it difficult to secure loans from traditional lenders.
This includes Black Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, where in Wales Start Up Loans totalling £3.8m have been delivered. And when you consider that only one in five businesses in the UK is run by a woman, delivering finance to female entrepreneurs has also been a priority. Since 2012, the SUL programme has delivered 39,161 loans and provided £338m of funding to women-led businesses across the UK. This accounts for around 40% of the programme’s total delivery, around double the level of women business ownership in the UK. Of these, 1,639 loans worth almost £15m went to women in Wales.
One of the recipients of these loans is Laura Mallows, the woman behind Mallows Beauty, a vegan beauty brand which is headquartered in Llantrisant, has a store in Cardiff city centre and several national retail partnerships. Laura launched Mallows Beauty with the help of a Start Up Loan which enabled her to fulfil orders from several large retailers. According to Laura, her loan “kick-started everything”.
Despite the difficulties of the past two years and an uncertain economic road ahead we must always remember that our start-ups are the cornerstone of our economy.
They must be supported.
And with our expanding Start Up Loans programme we have every intention of doing just that.
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