The Start Up Loans scheme was launched in 2012 as a government-backed initiative to help individuals start or grow a business when they might otherwise struggle to access finance.

At the outset, loans were typically £5,000–£10,000, aimed squarely at early-stage founders. Today, entrepreneurs can access up to £25,000 at a fixed low interest rate, alongside free business mentoring and support. To date, it has backed more than 100,000 founders with over £1 billion in funding.

The programme was shaped by the StartUp Britain campaign, which sought to make the UK the best place in the world to start and scale a business. It responded to a pressing need: many early-stage firms found themselves excluded from traditional finance, even when their ideas had clear potential.

The scheme drew inspiration from the model of student loans for university students — if young people could borrow to invest in their education, why should they not be able to borrow to invest in a business? Over time, the scheme broadened in scope, with specialist strands such as support for military veterans. To expand capacity and delivery, it was transferred to the British Business Bank, which scaled it nationwide.

Further reading

This entry was written by Michael Hayman MBE DL. Michael is Chair of BPI (UK), an independent non-executive with the British Chambers of Commerce, and was Co-Founder of StartUp Britain, the campaign for early stage firms.