The Prime Minister has hailed the entrepreneurial spirit of Britain’s black and minority ethnic communities as he welcomed news that thousands of entrepreneurs and young people of African-Caribbean and Asian heritage are benefiting from the Government’s long term economic plan to back enterprise, support new businesses and boost the skills of tomorrow’s workforce.
In figures published this week thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs from across Britain’s ethnic communities are setting up a new business thanks to Government support, while the number of apprenticeships started by BME people has more than doubled since 2010.
So far, over 5500 entrepreneurs of BME background have been awarded a Start-Up Loan, which provides financial support and business mentoring – over a quarter of all Start Up Loans to date.
Similarly, the New Enterprise Allowance, the scheme specifically targeted at unemployed people who want to start up their own business, has benefited 3030 African-Caribbean entrepreneurs and 1270 Asian who’ve been helped to turn their dreams of starting a business into reality.
And to help ensure that young BME people can get the necessary skills to secure great jobs in the future more and more of them are beginning apprenticeships, with big increases since 2010. In 2009/10 – there were 9390 British Asian and 6390 African-Caribbean apprenticeship starts, while for 2012/13 there were 19690 and 16590 respectively.
The news comes as the Government celebrates reaching [20,000] people being helped through Start Up loans nationwide. In reaching this significant milestone, Start Up Loans has now offered over £100 million to entrepreneurs across the country looking for support in starting up a business and two thirds of the way from the target of supporting 30,000 new businesses with £151 million by 2015.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister is visiting businesses and entrepreneurs that have benefited from Start-Up Loans, the New Enterprise Allowance and also see how other measures this Government has taken to support business and enterprise, such as the £2000 Employment Allowance, are helping to boost business.
Welcoming the figures, the Prime Minister said:
“Backing business is a key part of our long-term economic plan. And the strong entrepreneurial spirit of Britain’s black and minority ethnic communities means they are having a key role in boosting the economy. This means more jobs for hard working people; more opportunities for people to break out on their own and be their own boss; and more prosperity and economic security for us all. And with big increases in the number of BME people starting apprenticeships this shows that people of all backgrounds are having a stake in achieving a brighter future for our country.”
