Small businesses remain one of the most inspirational driving forces in our nation’s economy. They are resilient, invest in local talent, and play a pivotal role in communities. They are also major centres of growth and innovation, inventing products or offering services that tackle some of the unforeseen challenges of our time. This is well demonstrated by the many businesses that started in 2020 to cater to the unfamiliar territory of lockdown, such as home delivery services, online fitness and wellness services.

The last couple of years, however, has been a challenging period. This is especially true of start-ups, which are often headed by individuals who are running a business for the first time and have less financial security to ride out disruption. That’s why at the Start Up Loans programme we seek to make the support we offer them as rounded, accessible and personalised as possible.

Gas prices, business rates, national insurance, supply chain disruption, labour shortages, and rising wages are all listed as concerns. Whilst Start Up Loans cannot fix all of these challenges, it is our goal that everyone should feel empowered to be their own boss and that all start-ups have the best chance of success. The decision to say “Yes!” to starting an enterprise or taking out a business loan is a huge, defining leap for anyone. It’s why we have changed the Start Up Loans programme to now offer finance and support to any eligible business that started operating pre-pandemic back to mid-2017.

Since its launch ten years ago, the Start Up Loans programme has supported UK businesses up to three years old. We recognise, however, that with extraordinary factors including Brexit, the pandemic, and now the rising cost-of-living, there are a number of businesses that still need access to support but might be just outside those criteria. They have not had the same opportunities to grow due to the economic climate and therefore we expanded the programme in 2022 to now offer the same access to finance and support for companies established for up to five years.

I understand how important our loans are to both budding entrepreneurs channelling the courage to start their first venture and young businesses looking to stay the course amid difficult operating conditions. As well as the practical implications of the finance on offer, having a partner that can be used as a sounding board as well as facilitate access to other small business owners or mentorship is invaluable.

One such business is run by a current Start Up Loans Ambassadors, Will Smith, founder of Woodwork by Will. He took out a £6,000 loan in 2020 to start operating. Will told us that using an established partner like Start Up Loans “felt great and reassuring”. He added, “Borrowing money is always daunting but, in my opinion, this is the best way to do it.”

Cara Melzak, Founder of knitwear brand Cara in the Sky took out her first loan of £5,000 in 2019 and a second loan of £16,000 in 2020 to cover costs for production marketing and cash flow.

Cara wanted to create a sustainable knitwear brand which offered timeless pieces at an accessible price-point. She found the mentoring offered her “invaluable” support in the early stages.

“They really supported you through the whole process. It was good to know they were there. Whenever I had a problem, I know I can call on them. It’s great to have someone cheering you on, there to support and help navigate you through”.  Indeed, alongside the programme expansion offering finance to even more businesses, our loan recipients continue to benefit from free pre-and post-loan support, which includes guides on business planning, marketing, supply chain management, 1-to-1 sessions with our amazing delivery partners and so much more. You can access many of the guides online even if you haven’t taken a loan out with the British Business Bank.

This financial year, Start Up Loans looks likely to reach a major milestone of providing more than £1 billion of funding to UK businesses. It’s an incredible milestone to reach, and everyone associated the programme can feel proud to have helped so many fledgling businesses along the road to success.