By Dillon Lancaster, FGF Economist
A new report by The Future Governance Forum (FGF) has called for the government to use the Budget to provide more support for female, disabled and ethnic minority entrepreneurs and founders without inherited wealth or established networks, to help deliver Andy Burnham’s ambition for ‘good growth in every postcode’.
The ‘Closing the funding gap – building a fairer finance system that works for all founders’ report written by Ram Puvinathan and I, found £310 billion could be generated from more women starting businesses, £75 billion could be generated from more businesses led by ethnic minority entrepreneurs, and £230 billion could be generated from more businesses led by disabled entrepreneurs.
The report recommendations include calls for the government to:
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Provide more support for these ‘underinvested founders’, funded through the £400 million Investor Pathways Capital programme.
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Introduce a £50 million Youth Enterprise Scheme to help young people on Universal Credit to start their own businesses through financial subsidies.
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Direct the British Business Bank to set a target for funding reaching female, disabled and ethnic minority entrepreneurs and founders without inherited wealth, to increase support for those who find it difficult to access funding to grow their businesses.
Read my earlier article on why ‘John Healey must use his Budget to help young people launch new businesses’ which explains why a Youth Enterprise Scheme would help thousands of young people set up their own businesses.
