First Venture Funding Hub launches
A NEW body to help small firms and social enterprises raise finance is launching in Manchester, with Liverpool to follow too.
The first Venture Funding Hubs were launched at the House of Commons on Monday where it was announced that Manchester and Sheffield will be the first locations.
The brainchild of The Social Foundation, a social enterprise lauunched by entrepreneur and crowd-funding expert Barry James, Funding Hubs aim to connect local entrepreneurs with experts who can help signpost them to different forms of financing as well as inspire and empower them so helping to build local economies.
After Manchester and Sheffield hubs will be rolled out in Liverpool, Leicester, Glasgow, Cambridge and Hull.
The Manchester hub will be led by its co-founders who include Chris Moss, head of corporate at Manchester law firm JMW, Martin Manning of The Swot Team and Anne Strachan of CrowdFundUK.
Moss is well known for advising Channel 4’s, Dave Fishwick from the series Bank of Dave and has advised on several peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding projects.
He said: “Central to Venture Funding Hubs is bringing people together to learn from one another and together build the local economy, gaining new skills in the process.
“JMW is Manchester based so we’re delighted to be involved in pioneering one of the very first hubs right here, helping established businesses and budding entrepreneurs get advice both online and in-person from pioneers and experts in this new field of alternative finance.”
Barry James, added: “We are delighted that Manchester is joining Sheffield in leading the way with Venture Funding hubs across the north of England. Manchester co-founders Chris Moss, Martin Manning of TheSwotTeam, and Anne Strachan of CrowdfundUK, whose collective enthusiasm is infectious, have helped greatly in refining a model with which we hope to help reinvigorate towns and cities across the UK.”
The Venture Funding Hub project has been backed by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Barry Sheerman MP who is Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Crowdfunding and non-banking finance.
