Funding fillip for creative SMEs

CREATIVE and digital businesses in the North West could secure support from a new £1m investment fund.

The fund will offer businesses loans of between £50,000 and £100,000 on a match-funded basis to help develop new software and applications.

Creative England is managing the scheme which is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.

Businesses in the North, West Midlands and the South West will be given priority as the scheme aims to help in areas previously highly dependent on the public sector.

Jim Farmery, Creative England’s director of business development, said: “By launching this programme I hope we can stimulate the development of some really interesting content and applications and support projects that otherwise would have struggled to get off the ground.”

Creative England is looking for ideas relevant to specific markets including healthcare, games, business to business and E-learning.

The money for the loan scheme comes from a broader successful bid by Creative England for £5m from the Regional Growth Fund to help support digital SMEs.

Businesses looking to benefit from the scheme have to register their interest by the end of August.