Outstanding business and social enterprise leaders celebrated along with providers of responsible finance in UK Awards for achievements
A prize pot of £65,000 has awarded to businesses, social enterprises, and responsible finance providers at the 2016 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards on 8th March. The awards champion the outstanding microentrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs who are creating jobs, services and prosperity in their communities, along with the responsible finance providers who support them.
These community based lenders to businesses, social enterprises and individuals who cannot access mainstream finance have lent over £1.6bn in the last 10 years, creating and saving over 100,000 jobs.
The Award winners were announced by The BBC’s Justin Webb at a dinner in Manchester. Each award winner is listed below and you can click the links to read a case study about them.
- Winner, Economic Impact Award (small responsible finance provider category): Lancashire Community Finance
- Winner, Economic Impact Award (large responsible finance provider category): Key Fund Investments Ltd
- Winner, Social & Community Impact Award: Robert Owen Community Banking Fund
- Winner, Microentrepreneur of the Year Award for Growth: Paperworks
- Winner, Microentrepreneur of the Year Award for Sustainability: Ailsa Rhodes, The Opal Project
- Winner, Social Microentrepreneur of the Year Award: Susan Aktemel, Homes for Good
- Winner, Young Microentrepreneur of the Year Award: Callum Murray, Yarm Butchers
- Winner, Outstanding Loan Officer: Tim Daniels, Finance for Enterprise
- Winner, Outstanding Achievement Award: Paul Kalinauckas, BCRS
Responsible Finance, an organisation representing over 50 affordable and ethical lenders in the UK, partnerned with the Citi Foundation to bring the global Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards to the UK for the third year. This year the prize fund increased to £65,000.
Ben Hughes, chief executive of Responsible Finance, said:
“Over the last 10 years the responsible finance has injected £300 million into SMEs, and helped 200,000 people avoid predatory payday lenders. Without this lifeline, over 100,000 jobs would not exist, and hundreds of thousands of people would have been trapped with huge repayments, totalling £20 million, to high cost lenders.
“Congratulations to all of the winning and shortlisted microentrepreneurs, business and social enterprise leaders and responsible finance providers in the 2016 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards. They demonstrate how the responsible finance sector plays a crucial role in supporting Britain’s businesses and strengthens local economies through accessible, affordable and ethical finance.”
Bob Annibale, Global Director of Inclusive Finance at Citi said:
“This is the 3rd year of the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards in the UK and the depth of entries is a testament of the continued evolution of the responsible finance sector. These awards provide an important national platform to showcase the individuals and organisations that are working to expand access to finance in the UK, and their enterprising clients who are creating jobs, and supporting more inclusive economic opportunities and growth. Citi is proud to partner with Responsible Finance and to support and celebrate the achievement of these entrepreneurs.”