Valerie Dwyer presents EMDA-sponsored Enterprise Loans East Midlands Award (CDFI)
Valerie Dwyer, emda Board member Lead for Business and Enterprise Support: Women’s Enterprise, was delighted to be invited to present the inaugural EnterpriseLoans East Midlands ‘Best Business Plan’ Award at the First Enterprise Business Agency Ethnic Minority Business Awards 2008.
Dr John Okyere of Crossgen, a Nottingham BioCity-based business created from university and academic research to deliver microarrays to pharmaceutical companies and the biomedical research community, received the award and Valerie’s congratulations on behalf of the loan fund and emda.
Finalists were: Mrs Fermida Khan, Your Hair and Beauty and Mr Jinggui Li, House of Rising Sun.
As a member of the Women’s Enterprise Task Force, charged with increasing the supply sustainability and scalability of UK women’s enterprise, and as emda Board Lead for Business and Enterprise Support: Women’s Enterprise, Valerie has a particular interest in the Ethnic Minority Business Awards and especially EnterpriseLoans East Midlands. This CDFI (Community Development Finance Institution) provides a new source of funding pledging £3 million for business start ups and existing companies that have been turned away by conventional High Street lenders. Research and evidence demonstrates that women’s enterprises in particular experience this type of disadvantage that needs to be overcome for women’s enterprises to make their rightful contribution the UK economy.
Speaking to an audience of business advisers, intermediaries and business support professionals when she launched the fund earlier this year, Valerie said that Enterprise Loans East Midlands would help reduce economic inequalities and increase productivity within the region. “Over the next ten years our aim is to create and safeguard 1,400 jobs and assist 1,000 businesses, half of which will be start up businesses. Enterprise Loans East Midlands will focus on supporting businesses owned and started by young people, women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.”
Enterprise Loans East Midlands, is managed by First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA) and provide loans of between £3,000 and £20,000.
To qualify for funding from Enterprise Loans East Midlands applicants, whether a new or existing business, must have developed a business plan, approached a bank and been declined, and been referred by a business adviser such as Business Link.
Valerie is now encouraging everyone to spread the word about the loan fund and the awards in the expectation that more women’s enterprises will apply.
Potential, pre-start and existing entrepreneurs requiring further information about Enterprise Loans East Midlands can either visit www.enterpriseloanseastmidlands.co.uk or telephone 0845 602 7355.