Community Development Finance Association gets £60m to lend to social enterprises
- 05 Oct
Vince Cable, the business secretary, says that half the money will come from the government's Regional Growth Fund, the rest from two social lenders.
The Community Development Finance Association will receive £60m to lend to social, small and micro-enterprises, the business secretary Vince Cable has announced.The scheme is aimed at creating more than 8,000 jobs in deprived areas of England and boosting local growth over six years.
The CDFA, the umbrella body for community development finance institutions, will receive £30m from the government's Regional Growth Fund. The Co-operative Bank and Unity Trust Bank will each contribute £15m.
Responding to the announcement, Nick Temple, director of business and enterprise at Social Enterprise UK, the membership body for the social enterprise sector, said:
£60m worth of investment for SMEs and social enterprises through the CDFA is a very welcome step and signals a clear commitment from the government - notably, a commitment matched by prominent social banks - to grow the UK's social investment market.
It will strengthen our social economy and help civil society organisations and social enterprises access sustainable funding, which has proved difficult in these austere times. We hope to see similar initiatives in the future.Ben Hughes, chief executive of the CDFA, said the investment was crucial to the survival of many small and micro-businesses that would not exist without this support.
The £60m fund is aimed at providing a source of funding for enterprises that can struggle to access finance from mainstream banks and loan companies.
Cable, who made the announcement at CDFA's annual conference yesterday, said:
We need effective channels to support small business, which is why the CDFA and its members are so important for providing access to finance and kick-starting the economy.
The RGF is a £2.4bn fund for boosting the economy and creating jobs, particularly in areas that have relied on the public sector as the main source of employment. It will operate across England until 2015.
Read full article: Third Sector
Related articles
- 06 Feb
Housing association helps the environment and homeless at the same time
Northward Housing and The Mustard Tree homeless charity have teamed up to help get people back into work. The charity's Standfirm enterprise sees properties left by Northward's tenants, who have...
- 03 Feb
Trash to treasure scheme
Mr Pearce, from Broughton, Salford, is launching a new social enterprise ‘Old to New Furnishings', with the help of a grant from social housing provider Salix Homes. This new enterprise renovates...
- 27 Jan
WakeOrDonate app helps charity's gain donations
WakeOrDonate is a mobile phone app which will make a donation to a charity each time the snooze button is pressed on someone's phone alarm. The app has been developed by Ronan Finnegan, a nineteen...
- 06 Sep
A new approach to help people find care
A peer-support model is a way of working that allows the sector to save money whilst also giving reliable support and care to those needing it. Â Peer brokers will help other care-users manage their...
- 07 Jun
Pilot Project Shows Social Enterprises Can Tackle Local Problems
The JRF pilot project in Bradford shows the untapped potential that locally based social enterprises have to solve local problems.The report also says that local authorities should place a higher...
- 29 May
Charities would rather trade as a Social Enterprise
The results of the survey showed 92% said they would like to increase their income from trading and government contracts in the next three years.From asking 100 charities, the results shows that more...
- 03 May
Charities and Businesses form New Social Enterprise
New methods need to be found for funding new social enterprises to free them from traditional methods and generate new methods of spending as well as methods of funding.Foundations traditionally...
- 27 Mar
Social Enterprise to help those with learning difficulties is expanding!
 Loddon Social Enterprise will from next month be able to provide facilities where cooking, artwork and computer skills can be learned to increase the work experience for adults who have learning...
- 08 Mar
Social enterprise spending to reduce reoffending
 The process still seems to be a learning process at present, and the ministry have recently completed a consultation on the sector to gain helpful feedback.They will be giving out a second grant to...
- 28 Feb
Remploy Workers want to buy Factory as Social Enterprise
The factories that make components and assemble car parts in Birmingham, Coventry and Derby, will lose all funding from the government by September.They were left open when thirty four Remploy...
Revenue Optimisation "We really appreciate the work that Support Solutions did for Home Group in securing significant additional revenue for our supported housing schemes. This really will make a positive difference to the way in which we support our vulnerable tenants". Dave Coope - Home Group
