The Triodos Bank has launched a ground-breaking £3 million venture capital fund to support the development of UK social enterprise.
Their Triodos Opportunities Fund will invest between £200,000 and £750,000 in established social enterprises that have a proven business model and require funding to scale up their operations.
Whitni Thomas, investment manager at Triodos, believes that whilst others have talked about setting up similar schemes, the Opportunities Fund will be the first in the UK to actually start making investments.
She said: “Like most SMEs, growing social enterprises struggle to attract risk capital. This pioneering new fund will go some way to plug the equity gap that exists for ambitious social enterprises that want to scale up their operations.
“The Triodos Opportunities Fund will show that it is possible to generate a financial return while creating a tangible social impact.”
An initial £3 million has been raised from backers including charities the Waterloo Foundation and the Tudor Trust, along with private sector contributions, with the total funding pot expected to increase to between £5-6 million.
It is expected the Fund will invest the majority of the money during the next couple of years, with Triodos aiming to strike up long-term relationships with the successful social enterprises.
The fund is Triodos’ third venture capital scheme, but the first where the money has been raised from the UK. Although they have supported UK enterprises with their previous two venture capital funds, the actual finance was secured from the Netherlands.
For more information about the fund contact Whitni Thomas on 020 7138 3209 or email whitni.thomas@triodos.co.uk
Source: www.j4bcommunity.co.uk
