Young entrepreneurs receive over £100m worth of support from government's Start Up Loan Scheme

The Start Up Loan Scheme is delivered through British Business Bank, which has granted over £1bn in loans to SMEs across the country since the scheme launched in 2012.

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The scheme supports young entrepreneurs who are looking to set up a small business – a group which often struggles to get business finance from other sources – and offers an effective pathway into employment, with almost a third of recipients aged 18-24 leaving unemployment.

Of all the loans distributed to entrepreneurs under the age of 25, 39 per cent have also gone to female business owners and 24 per cent to business owners from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The most popular industries to launch a business in include retail (£8.5m), hospitality (£5.8m) and arts and entertainment (£2.5m).

Small Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said: “Every large firm started off as a small business and today’s aspiring young entrepreneurs could be the next success story. I urge them to explore how a Start Up Loan could launch their ambitions today.

“Through the British Business Bank, and the Help to Grow campaign, we’ve backed the next generation of business leaders with over £100m in government backed finance and we’re not stopping there.”