UK female entrepreneurs have received £100m in Start Up Loans

Budding female entrepreneur? Looking for funding to get your idea off the ground? Then you may want to consider applying for a Start Up Loan.

According to new data published today, The Start Up Loans company has provided over £100m in funding to some 17,000 women in business since its launch in 2012.

In London alone, over 5,0000 female start-up founders have received £30m in loans through the initiative, followed by female business owners in the South East and South West who have secured £10m each over the last five years.

The government-backed loans scheme reports that 39% of its funding goes to women in business making up over 17,000 of the 44,000 loans it has provided in total.

Female entrepreneurs that have received a loan through the scheme include Ruth Davis, founder of bespoke London florist boutique All for Love, and Pip Murray, founder of 2016 Startups Awards-winning nut butter company Pip & Nut.

First formed by the department for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS, formerly BIS), The Start Up Loans Company provides loans up to £25,000 at 6% fixed rate per annum and offers a mentoring service to each business it supports.

Ruth Davis commented:

“Launching my very own florist had long been a dream of mine, but access to funding was a barrier to making it a reality in the first instance. Our funding from the Start Up Loans Company was used to subsidise our initial set-up costs so All for Love could get going and confidently enter the marketplace.

“I’d encourage anyone thinking of starting their own business to explore the options available to them. There are funding sources and support which can make launching your business a smoother journey from the outset.”

Apply for a Start Up Loan here.