Our mission is to help new and early-stage UK businesses access affordable finance and mentoring support.
We’re a part of the British Business Bank and deliver the government’s Start Up Loans programme. This gives personal fixed-interest loans and support to aspiring and early-stage business owners from across the UK who might be struggling to access other forms of finance. The programme supports employment, enables economic growth and has a transformational impact on the lives of thousands of people.
You can find free guides on a range of subjects related to starting a business on the Start Up Loans website: https://www.startuploans.co.uk/free-start-up-guides/.
Our impact:
- We’ve lent more than £935m through over 99,000 loans since we were established in 2012 (as at 31 October 2022)
- Setting up a business with Start Up Loans helps provides a route out of unemployment – 33% of our loan recipients aged 18-24 were unemployed prior to applying.
- We lend money to people in every part of the country and from all backgrounds. The proportion of our loans which go to under-served groups is far higher than their proportion of the business population:
- 40% of our loan recipients are women
- 21% of our loan recipients are from Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic backgrounds (excluding White minorities)
Mentoring and support:
- Start Up Loans provides a full package of free support, including courses, pre-application advice and post-loan mentoring
- In 2022 Start Up Loans partnered with Sign Live and the RNIB to provide better accessibility for applicants who need it.
- We’ve partnered with the Open University to offer ‘Learn with Start Up Loans’ -a range of free courses ideal for people who are going into business for the first time.