There is a Finance and mentoring scheme for 18-24 year olds planning to start successful businesses.
The £82.5m scheme was initially proposed by Sir Richard Branson (“The government must do more to help young entrepreneurs”, he said) and now confirmed in this year’s Budget. The plan is to tackle youth unemployment and kickstart more businesses in the UK.
After a £10m pilot this financial year, Start-up Loans will be bolstered (if successful, of course) by a further £32.5m in ’13/14, and £40m more in ’14/15.
Commenting the new scheme, Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I want this to be the year where people can think yes, I can do it” and hopes to welcome a wave of entrepreneurs “who start small but think big”.
What are the features of the new scheme? Unlike other types of loans, the interest rate is set at the Retail Price Index (RPI) plus 3{84cd2a1ed79640e7d0414365cdf56528b155d8417f8ab9b27627206ef90f1f75}, and the maximum repayment option will be 5 years. All repayments and interests will be used to support the ventures of other young entrepreneurs.
The scheme, which is part of the government’s ‘Business in You‘ campaign, will also offer formal training and mentoring (for example, teaching startuppers how to write an effective business plan). Viable business ideas will be eligible for £2,500 funding.
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