Jobs hope in bid for Euro funding

A consortium of Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) has applied for a £9.95m contribution from the European Regional Development Fund to create a £19.95m fund to support small and medium sized businesses and social enterprises in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

Over the next three years, the funding could be made available to organisations and businesses that struggle to access finance because they are considered high risk by the mainstream banks.

A CDFI is a financial institution serving disadvantaged groups.

Ann Oldroyd, the chief executive of the Sheffield-based Key Fund, which is part of the consortium, said: “We will be financing a variety of new and emerging enterprises.”

These businesses could include firms set up by somebody who has used their redundancy package to become self-employed for the first time.

Ms Oldroyd added: “In turn, this will create employment opportunities for those outside of the labour market.”

The Key Fund, founded in 1998, specialises in supporting fast-growing social enterprises. Ms Oldroyd added: “We expect to help 900 small and medium-sized enterprises and create 400 new ones.”