Chris Parkhouse, Chairman of the Institute of Directors in the East of England, said: “This is good news for young entrepreneurs in the UK – there are hundreds of thousands of young people who are raring to set up their own businesses, and this will help them take the first step. It is crucial that it is not just money being provided, but also mentoring from experienced businesspeople to advise the recipients on how best to invest their funds. Done properly, this scheme will provide the first chance to people who may one day be some of Britain’s best-known business leaders.”
**£80 million start-up loans for new businesses
The Institute of Directors (IoD) was founded in 1903 and obtained a Royal Charter in 1906. The IoD is a non-party political organisation with approximately 38,000 members in the United Kingdom and overseas. Membership includes directors from right across the business spectrum – from media to manufacturing, e-business to the public and voluntary sectors. Members include CEOs of large corporations as well as entrepreneurial directors of start-up companies.
The IoD provides an effective voice to represent the interests of its members to key opinion-formers at the highest levels. These include Government ministers and their shadows, parliamentary committee members, senior civil servants and think-tanks. IoD policies and views are actively promoted to the national, regional and trade media. Follow us on Twitter to get the IoD’s reaction on business and public policy issues.
The IoD offers a wide range of business services which include business centre facilities, with ten UK centres (three in London, one each in Reading, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester, Nottingham, Norwich, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast) and one in Paris, conferences, networking events, virtual offices, issues-led guides and literature, as well as free access to business information and advisory services. The IoD places great emphasis on director development and has established a certified qualification for directors – Chartered Director – as well as running specific board and director-level training and individual career mentoring programmes.
For further information, visit our website: www.iod.com
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Contacts for further comments or to arrange interviews:
Chris Parkhouse - 01223-873033, or by email via chrisparkhouse@deytonbell.com.