Summit to focus on finance for small business
A major event is being held in Hereford next week for finance organisations to find out how they can better support small businesses with their growth plans.
The Marches Growth Hub, the one stop shop business support service, in partnership with the Marches LEP will host the Access to Finance Summit on April 11, at the Hereford Business Solutions Centre at Skylon Court.
It forms part of the Get Finance initiative which was launched last year to help small and micro-businesses unlock new and alternative funding streams to aid their development.
Paul Kalinauckas, the Marches LEP board member championing the Access to Finance campaign, said a lack of finance was still proving a major issue for many small businesses in the area.
“Over recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of Alternative Finance streams available to small businesses from peer to peer lenders, equity funds, invoice discounters and crowd funders to locally-based small business loan funds.
“This is great news for businesses looking to grow and take their ventures to the next level but sometimes it can be difficult and confusing to know where to start with so many different lenders and organisations.
“The summit next week is specifically for advisors and professionals working with small businesses to hear from the region’s leading experts on alternative finance and to highlight exactly what is out there.
“They will explain what funding streams are available so that organisations working with small businesses have a better understanding and what options they can present.”
Paul added: “This event is really about reaching the intermediaries already working with businesses and getting them on board to help spread the word about the different finance options now available.”
The Access to Finance Summit will start at 2pm and finish at 4.30pm. It is a dedicated event for key players in the funding, legal and banking sectors to discuss alternative finance.