Northern Ireland’s entrepreneurial spirit is progressing as new figures show the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme has delivered £17million in funding to support start up and early-stage businesses across the region.

Since 2012, business owners in Northern Ireland have received £17m from the programme with 1,895 loans.

Entrepreneurs in the Mid Ulster District Council area have received the most funding from the programme with £2,782,650 issued across 291 loans.

In Belfast, a total of £2,270,404 has been issued across 288 loans.

The figures also show that the Start Up Loans programme has hit significant milestones in five of Northern Ireland’s local council areas.

In Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area, the programme has recently reached the milestone of providing £2m of finance to business owners.

Four other local authority areas in Northern Ireland have reached the £1m milestone. These are: Derry City and Strabane District Council, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, and the Ards and North Down Borough Council.

Another milestone is also on the horizon as figures show nearly £2m of finance has been provided to businesses in Fermanagh and Omagh District Council region.

Susan Nightingale, Director UK Network Devolved Nations, British Business Bank said: “It is encouraging to see these milestones being hit across Northern Ireland.

“The British Business Bank is focused on improving access to finance in all areas of Northern Ireland, so it is particularly pleasing to see entrepreneurs in some of our more rural areas seeking support.”

See below for a full breakdown of loans across Northern Ireland

Start Up Loans in Northern Ireland
Local constituency	Loans Made	Value (£)
Mid Ulster	291	£2,782,650
Belfast	288	£2,270,404
Newry, Mourne and Down	208	£2,012,546
Fermanagh and Omagh	204	£1,897,836
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon	196	£1,796,817
Derry City and Strabane	137	£1,102,821
Lisburn and Castlereagh	118	£1,072,000
Causeway Coast and Glens	123	£1,049,617
Ards and North Down	123	£1,011,250
Antrim and Newtownabbey	86	£903,523
Mid and East Antrim	117	£893,944

In addition to finance, successful applicants receive 12 months of free mentoring and access to business resources to help them succeed. The loan is unsecured, so there is no need to put forward any assets or guarantors to support an application.

All owners or partners in a business can individually apply for up to £25,000 each, with a maximum of £100,000 available per business.