£140million WRIF support package gathers momentum
"Accessing finance remains a particular challenge and the WRIF is an exciting dimension of the county council's commitment to supporting employers, employees and the communities of which they are an integral part.
Warwickshire County Council's £140 million programme to stimulate the county's economy post-Covid is gathering momentum with further funding to be rolled out during 2022.
The county council launched the Warwickshire Recovery Investment Fund (WRIF) last summer to support local businesses, create jobs and bring investment into the county.
Most specifically, it is designed to provide support for Warwickshire businesses which may be struggling with an unforgiving access-to-finance market. Such support has never been more urgently needed as businesses strive to cope with the ongoing pressures of the pandemic and restrictions.
The WRIF aims to distribute £140 million over the next five years, offering loans and other financial investments to existing and new businesses to help their long-term recovery and growth.
With much of the preparations now done, the three strands of WRIF support will advance during 2022. Warwickshire County Council has appointed two experienced members of staff - Hardeep Sandhu and Jo Smith - to lead the Business Investment Growth strand and has, after a procurement exercise, appointed highly-respected business consultant Jagdish Soor as lead access-to-finance advisor on debt finance.
The WRIF is central to the council’s Covid-19 Recovery Plan and comprises three main strands of support .
The Business Investment Growth strand (debt finance to medium and larger businesses) was launched in Summer 2021 and the Property and Infrastructure strand (investment in commercial sites and premises to encourage businesses to invest in Warwickshire and create jobs will be launched in 2022. The contract to deliver third strand, the £10 million Local Communities and Enterprise loans programme, has also now been awarded.
These small loans, aimed at small businesses, including start-ups and social enterprises will be launched in the coming weeks. Applications from under-represented groups, including female-led businesses, young people, and care leavers, will be particularly welcomed and given additional weighting when proposals are being assessed.
WCC's Strategy & Commissioning Manager (Economy & Skills) Alison Robinson said: "The business community of Warwickshire has reacted brilliantly to deal with the many challenges and pressures of the pandemic. However, accessing finance remains a particular challenge and the WRIF is an exciting dimension of the county council's commitment to supporting employers, employees and the communities of which they are an integral part.
"We are keen to support small business every step of the way and the Local Communities and Enterprise loans will go live over the coming weeks. I urge all small business to find out more and consider whether we can help them."
For more information and to register your interest please visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/wrif