smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Some £95 million of new Regional Growth Fund (RGF) money has been allocated for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

The money will be paid out in grants which will supplement bank loans where the total required loan amount cannot be raised.

The support is aimed at SMEs that are planning to invest in new capital assets, such as plant and machinery, and create new jobs.

The RGF is a £1.4 billion fund which is designed to encourage enterprise, growth and jobs in the private sector and support areas and communities that are dependent on the public sector.

The move is part of a business growth package announced at the government's ‘Exporting for Growth’ conference.

Other measures announced include the National Export Challenge; a series of initiatives to give SMEs the knowledge they need to make the first steps to breaking into new markets, and a new UKTI prize for the best export idea.

Prime minister David Cameron says, ‘British SMEs are already doing incredible things, but we urgently need more of them to follow that boldness. We need this to be a country where more people think ‘I can start my own business and I can sell to the world.

‘Our determination is to come through these difficult times stronger, to trade our way to growth and jobs. We need to show real optimism about the future, and we need to show real aggression about pursuing Britain’s interests in the world. The markets are there to be tapped; the deals are there to be done, the opportunities are there to be capitalised on. Now together we must seize them.’