A COMMUNITY finance organisation which helps people to set up or expand their business says it is concerned some entrepreneurs’ ambitions are being stifled because they assume they won’t get finance.
Foundation East has helped a number of businesses in the region, including Bury St Edmunds-based Viking Tree Services, pictured right, and Diss-based sound and lighting company CEG, see centre pages.
Loans manager Valerie Jarrett said businesses that rise out of adversity are often the strongest.
“Our aim is to support people with sound business plans when they face a tough patch.”
The organisation works with them to get them to the stage where they can trade their way to success or they become eligible for mainstream banking.
This year, the organisation has loaned over �0.78m to small businesses, including that of Adam Thurkettle and Rob Sayer, who were just 19 and 18 when they set up Viking Tree Services in 2009. The pair, who met at Otley College, decided to set up a tree cutting enterprise but needed funds to gain a safety qualification. They were loaned the funds by Foundation East.
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