A post-mastectomy lingerie brand in the Midlands, an independent dog store in Leeds, a Super Car and motorsports events company in the Northeast, and a sustainable sportswear brand in Northern Ireland are among 14 businesses announced as Start Up Loans’ 2024 Ambassadors.

The annual Start Up Loans Ambassadors programme, now in its ninth year, celebrates inspiring UK business owners who have launched an enterprise using funding from the government-backed scheme. The Ambassadors have been selected as they demonstrate the resilience, creativity, and determination required to make a smaller business successful, and to provide inspiration for entrepreneurs across the UK.

This year, in addition to 12 Ambassadors drawn from each of the UK’s Nations and regions, two more Ambassadors have been selected. These business owners represent two important groups supported by the programme, who may face challenges in accessing funding elsewhere: one from the ex-forces community and the other from the 18-24 age group. More details about all the Ambassadors can be found below.

Previous Start Up Loans Ambassadors have gone on to secure considerable growth, such as Dash Water, NICE Drinks and UK Connect. One of the most successful scale-up businesses supported by a Start Up Loan is Castore, which at the end of 2023 had a valuation of approximately £950m.

The 2024 Ambassadors will be introduced at a dedicated event in central London that marks the start of a year-long programme which will see the new Ambassadors take part in a series of local and national activities, helping inspire and encourage aspiring start-up founders to take the leap into business ownership.

 Richard Bearman, Managing Director of Small Business Lending, British Business Bank, said: “I am delighted to welcome the new cohort of Start Up Loans Ambassadors, and I’m particularly excited that we’ve been able to add two additional business owners as Ambassadors this year: one from the ex-forces community and one representing Gen Z.

 “All 14 of our Ambassadors have immensely impressive stories and truly represent the breadth and diversity of the UK’s smaller business community. These entrepreneurs are vital for our economy, and their success fuels our nation’s growth and prosperity.”

 “Our fixed-interest rate loans have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs get their business off the ground, with many more taking up the offer of post-loan support from our mentors. We look forward to working with the UK’s founders for years to come”.

 Gareth Thomas, Small Business Minister said: “These new ambassadors are prime examples of the innovation and ingenuity of the UK’s small firms. Access to finance is crucial for SMEs to succeed, and the Start Up Loan scheme is a lightning rod to that success. We know that when small businesses are given the tools to thrive, it leads to growth, more jobs and helps to boost the whole economy.”

Since its inception in 2012, the Start Up Loan programme has delivered more than 115,000 loans to business owners across the UK, amounting to more than £1.1bn of funding. Of those loans, 40% of loan recipients have been women and 20% from Black, Asian, and Other Minority Ethnic backgrounds (not including White Minorities).

Regional breakdown of loans since 2012

 Source: Start Up Loans, 31 August 2024

Through a network of business support partner organisations, the Start Up Loans programme provides:

• access to pre-and-post loan support to help applicants to develop a business plan
• fixed-interest first and second loans of up to £25,000 to help recipients to start or grow their business
• mentoring support to help loan recipients with everything from cash flow to marketing.