Funding To Help Welsh SMEs Recover and Grow

Hard-pressed SME’s have borne the brunt of the ongoing pandemic but recent data shows UK entrepreneurs are very much fighting back. 770,000 new business were created in 2020 – a national record. And UK-wide, start-up businesses saw a 30 percent growth compared to 2019, according to data from NatWest.

Many small business owners don’t feel enough Government support has been available for them, but in the UK, for those that have been able to access government support, a third have received the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, a quarter have used the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, and one fifth have accessed the Local Restriction Support Grant.

We were pleased to see a £45 million package to train staff and help Welsh SMEs grow announced at the end of last month – we hope some of the businesses that are being incubated under our roof in Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Llanelli, and Cwmbran will be able to tap into this support.

 As part of the package, £35 million is set aside to help SMEs in Wales relaunch, develop, decarbonise and grow to help drive the economic recovery. The funding is said to be aimed at supporting more than 1,000 business, helping to create 2,000 new jobs and safeguard a further 4,000. An additional £10 million is being made available to boost Wales’ Personal Learning Accounts, too, to support further education colleges to deliver courses and qualifications to help people access a wider range of jobs in priority sectors facing labour shortages.