A £583,000 investment is to extend a business and enterprise project to encourage over 300 young entrepreneurs to create their own start up companies in North East England.
The Prince’s Trust North East has secured the additional money through regional development agency One North East, with a £200,000 Single Programme contribution topped up by £383,000 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2007-13.
The successful application allows the continuation of the £1.3m Enterprising Young People initiative which commenced in 2006, and the new funding will encourage young people, particularly those from disadvantaged areas, to consider self employment or starting up their own business.
“Our main objective is to help young people develop an entrepreneurial culture and raise aspirations for self employment,” said The Prince’s Trust North East Regional Director David Beavis.
“We are achieving this by providing access to finance for young entrepreneurs starting a business and skills development opportunities for those considering it. We also give each business an individual mentor to support them through their initial years of trading.
“Without this support, many young people would not be able to access finance and training to start their own business as they lack experience and confidence and are often not taken on by mainstream commercial lenders.”
The project will support the likes of Craig Smith and Lisa Kennedy, winners of the 2008 regional Prince’s Trust Enterprise Award sponsored by the Federation of Small Businesses.
When the company Craig was working for went bust and he was made redundant, the couple decided to set up The Printed Bag Shop. With help from The Prince's Trust, they have achieved remarkable growth in just eighteen months of selling bespoke printed bags, supplying international companies such as Coca Cola.
One North East Head of European and Skills Strategy Lesley Calder added: “The Prince’s Trust North East has proved a strong candidate for ERDF and agency investment. Its track record in supporting unemployed young people is higher than any other region in the country.
“It has helped over 5,000 young people into business in the North East since it established its business start-up programme in the 1980s. 80% of those supported achieve economic independence after one year and more than 50% of its businesses are still trading into their third year. We’re looking forward to seeing many more successes in the future.”
The overall project is being delivered through The Prince’s Trust North East offices covering Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham and Tees Valley. A regional network of experienced staff works on an outreach basis to take business advice and guidance into local, disadvantaged areas of greatest need.