£2M fund opens to budding social entrepreneurs in the North

The second round of Social Incubator North will see the best business ideas receive up to £25k interest-free loan investment with up to 80 hours of tailored one-to-one business support, peer learning, networking and access to business premises.

Social Incubator North is led by Sheffield-based Key Fund in collaboration with the four Northern Social Enterprise Partnerships and Locality.

All ideas must come with a social backbone, such as offering employment or training to vulnerable members of the community or delivering a service with green credentials.

Sam Tarff, CEO of Key Fund, said: “A Social Business is one with enterprise and social impact at its heart, meeting social need and establishing a platform for ethical business, whether it’s a private or social enterprise.”

The first round of the Social Incubator North – which is co-funded by the Cabinet Office as part of the Big Lottery’s’ Social Incubator Fund – launched in May 2013. It received 170 enquiries, with 114 applications. Of those, 33 went on to receive a place on the programme with participants from the North East, North West, East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.

The scheme, aims to create 60 new investment ready businesses across all sectors.

Deadline for applications for Round Two is Friday 28th February 2014.

Applicants are invited to visit[ilink url=”http://www.socialincubatornorth.org.uk”]www.socialincubatornorth.org.uk[/ilink]  to find out more about how to apply.