Why funding for early-stage purpose-led products is needed now more than ever
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor the number of people in the UK running a new business last year reached the highest level since the late 1990s.
12.6% of UK adults were in their first three months of running a new business or were already running a young enterprise in 2021. That’s the highest figure since the study was first conducted in 1999 and a significant increase on the 7.8% recorded in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The report goes on to say that the government should capitalise on the number of new UK entrepreneurs starting a business to help “spur the economic growth and dynamism needed to recover from the serious economic impact of COVID-19”.
However, one of the biggest barriers to that is small business finance. Among the 17 highest income countries, the UK ranked bottom for ease of access to entrepreneurial funding. The researchers urged policymakers to provide tax breaks and incentives for new businesses as well as for financial institutions who lend to entrepreneurs.
The irony is that when it comes to people starting a business in the future, more than 70% said the UK is an easy place to launch an enterprise with 9.3% intending to do so.
Half of respondents believed they have the skills and knowledge to start but 52% admitted fear of failure is holding them back from launching their own venture in the next three years.
We feel that launching our fourth British Design Fund, BDF4, could not be more timely. BDF4 will invest in at least ten early stage purpose-led product design and manufacturing businesses. In addition, our mentoring programme means that we can help these entrepreneurs tackle the big challenges and overcome the barriers which might otherwise jeopardise their success.
Have a look at our portfolio to see the spread of companies which we have invested in to date.
If you would like to learn more about how to apply for, or invest in, BDF4, then click here:
www.britishdesignfund.co.uk/apply/
www.britishdesignfund.co.uk/invest/
Or for more information contact:
Damon Bonser, CEO damon@britishdesignfund.co.uk
John Mathers, Chair john@britishdesignfund.co.uk
