£1m Fund Launched to Help Unemployed People Start a Business in Wales
A fund has been created with the aim of providing financial assistance for up to 500 individuals who have barriers to starting up a business in Wales.
The Welsh Government’s new Barriers To Start Up Grant has been established to enable economically inactive and unemployed individuals to set up a business in Wales. It will particularly target those who are facing barriers to start-up and the employment market.
A budget of £1 million has been allocated to the fund, with individual grants of up to £2,000 on offer. The grant will come as a part of a package of support that will include one-to-one advice and webinars to build confidence in business practices and develop plans for starting a business.
This discretionary grant will help 400 individuals who have faced barriers to starting up a business, and up to 100 young entrepreneurs.
The grant is intended to assist individuals at the pre-start phase by contributing towards the essential costs of starting a business. It is for revenue expenditure only.
Applicants should be economically inactive or unemployed, and looking to start a self-employed business in Wales. The Welsh Government is encouraging applications from individuals who identify as:
- Disabled with a work limiting health condition.
- Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic.
- Women.
- Young people not in education or training (NEETS) aged 18-24 or a College and University leaver since 2019 contracted for less than 20 hours per week.
Expressions of Interest are now being accepted. Forms for full applications will be available from 3 January 2022 and deadline for submitted applications is 24 March 2022. However, if funds are used up before this date the scheme will close early.
(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)
