Business Secretary Vince Cable launched a £60 million pot of Regional Growth Fund investment and bank finance at the Community Development Finance Association's (CDFA) annual conference last week.
The CDFA will receive £30 million from the Government's Regional Growth Fund (RGF), which has been matched with a further £30 million by the Co-operative Bank and Unity Trust Bank to provide lending to small, micro and social enterprises.

More than 8,000 jobs are expected to be created or safeguarded over six years thanks to the funding. It will also help to meet some of the growing demand from small businesses for access to finance and will help drive investment in often fragmented communities.

Following a visit to bakeware firm Utensa in Tyseley, Birmingham, Vince Cable gave the keynote speech at the CDFA's annual conference in Solihull. He said: 'We need effective channels to support small business which is why the CDFA and its members are so important for providing access to finance and kick starting the economy. They are best placed to ensure that the £60 million goes to those SMEs, such as Utensa in Birmingham, that will create jobs and unlock private investment.'

'Regional Growth Fund programmes like this one have already awarded SMEs over 500 grants and loans across the country. This is an excellent way to get value for money, but more importantly, it is a good way to focus on local priorities for growth, as most programmes are led by local partners. RGF is leading the way in rebalancing the economy and boosting business and industry.'

Ben Hughes, Chief Executive of the CDFA said: 'We welcome the £60m invested by RGF and Co-operative Bank/Unity Trust Bank into our unique RGF programme. Through creating 8,000 jobs in some of the most deprived areas of England, it offers remarkable value for money in boosting sustainable local growth.'

He continued: 'This investment is critical to the survival of many small and micro businesses who, without this support, would simply not exist. It's a milestone, yet just the starting point for an exciting - and timely - expansion of the community finance sector; greater investment like this offers a new way of creating wealth - that's sustainable and ethical yet that also makes sound business sense.'

HeatFed (The Heating Engineers and Allied Trades Federation) has welcomed the announcement, according to Alan Black, director - legislative support.