Four outstanding businesses were each awarded a £7,500 prize in this year’s Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards, delivered in partnership by Responsible Finance and the Citi Foundation.
The winners include a furniture factory which makes bestselling reptile enclosures, an organic mail-order plant firm, a food and retail hub created from recycled shipping containers and a social enterprise which finds meaningful ways to reuse and recycle waste wood.
Each was supported by a “responsible finance” provider at a time when they were unable to access traditional finance they needed to develop.
The winners were announced at a ceremony on 13 March in Liverpool.
Alongside the businesses – all creating jobs, opportunities and positive economic, social and environmental impacts in their communities – two responsible finance providers were recognised for their impact and their resilience, with two further special awards for individuals working for providers.
Winner profiles – businesses:
Online and mail-order organic plant business Rocket Gardens was named the UK’s most exceptional business contributing to social and environmental impacts (founder Mike Kitchen was named Social Entrepreneur of the Year).
The firm (which has been supported by SWIG Finance) now sells more than 1 million organic plants per year and has creates a plant growing and mail order packaging system which is 100% plastic free – the first UK mail order edible plant supplier to have done so.
Glasgow Wood Recycling is a social enterprise employing 20 people which which finds meaningful ways to reuse and recycle waste wood and has been named the UK’s most exceptional business contributing to Sustainability.
It has prevented over four thousand tonnes of wood from being wasted and creates quality garden and indoor furniture with hotels including Gleneagles and the Hilton among its customers. Other projects have included furniture for boutique wedding venues and a stunning outdoor space for the children of Bankhead Primary School. It has been supported by DSL Business Finance.
Tom McKenzie (25) and Sam Leach (25), the founders of Spark:York, were named the UK’s “young entrepreneurs of the year.” They created SPARK*, their “vision to transform a derelict space in the centre of York by putting dynamic and visionary local people at its helm,” from 23 upcycled shipping containers.
The containers offer affordable space to independent food, drink and retail businesses – and are used as art and music studios, galleries and workspaces. It has been supported by the Business Enterprise Fund (BEF).
And Aquapac Ltd, a Cumbernauld business which manufactures cabinets and vivariums for the pet market and contract furniture for hotels, took the Growth Award.
Founded in 1995 it has grown from three family members to 32 staff, creating high quality jobs with further plans to reach 50 staff, and doubled its turnover from 2016 to 2018. Aquapac’s growth has been supported by DSL Business Finance.
Responsible Finance Providers recognised too:
Launched in 2005, (and in 2013 in the UK), the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards were established by the Citi Foundation to recognise best-in-class microentrepreneurs and celebrate the responsible finance sector and their contribution to national economies.
Business Enterprise Fund (BEF), which exists to support SMEs and social enterprises to better serve their communities and customers, particularly in the North of England, North and West Yorkshire, Humberside and North Lincolnshire and the North East, was named the winner of the Impact Award.
In 2018 BEF lent £8.8m to 399 clients and delivered 4,000 hours of tailored business support, helping launch 179 new businesses, creating or safeguarding 985 UK jobs. This brought £39m of economic benefit to the regional economy.
BEF’s impact measurement and reporting has been a key area of focus in the last 12 months. A new Social Impact report was launched in July 2018 outlining BEF’s contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
BEF’s ongoing and demonstrable impact has enabled the retention and growth of funding streams, helping to enhance credentials in the social investment arena.
Fredericks Foundation, a responsible finance provider launched in 2001, was named the winner of the Resilience Award.
Fredricks’ aim is to alleviate poverty by providing microfinance to enable people to achieve the dignity and self-respect of supporting themselves through enterprise.
Fredericks recently launched a Women’s Loan Fund to add to its portfolio of microloan funds for people in the UK living in poverty who wish to achieve financial independence. Women only own 19% of UK businesses and much of this imbalance is blamed on access to finance.
Following data analysis, Fredericks found that female borrowers were twice as likely to repay a Fredericks loan and the social impact of lending to them was far greater. Fredericks is lending and providing the much-needed encouragement and support alongside those funds to help women succeed.
The responsible finance Leader of the Year is Lisa Greenhalgh of MSIF, a loan and equity provider based in Liverpool City Centre.
MSIF provides a wide range of funding to businesses across the North West and North Wales, from £500 to over £2m for a variety of business needs including start-ups, expansions, acquisitions and management buy outs/buy ins.
Over 24 years MSIF has helped over 2,000 businesses, created or safeguarded over 15,000 jobs and invested over £177m.
And the Outstanding Loan Officer is Sukhveer Chirrimar of First Enterprise/Enterprise Loans East Midlands (ELEM).
Launched in 1989, First Enterprise/Enterprise Loans East Midlands (ELEM) provides funding across the East and South Midlands region offering business loans of between £3,000 and £150,000, alongside business advice.
In addition to the loan funding ELEM has added managed workspace through a property portfolio owning 3 buildings, housing its 16 strong team and 20 business units which generate a healthy income for the organisation.
Responsible Finance providers are a crucial part of the UK’s financial sector and the leading financial institutions offering affordable finance to many small and micro enterprises, and social enterprises.
In 2018 responsible finance providers lent £85 million to over 5,000 businesses, and 84% of business customers supported by responsible finance providers in 2018 were previously turned down by a bank. And over 4,000 jobs in social enterprises were created or saved in 2018 thanks to £138 million of responsible finance loans.
The Citi Foundation is committed to supporting and celebrating the responsible finance sector, as well as youth entrepreneurs through its Pathways to Progress initiative that is tackling youth unemployment globally.
“The Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards are a celebration of the enterprises and local businesses which are the backbone of our communities. They also recognise the important role responsible finance providers play in supporting the entrepreneurship ecosystem, which enables many microenterprises, including this year’s winners, to grow and scale their businesses,” said Bob Annibale, Global Director, Citi Inclusive Finance and Community Development.
“This year’s Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals agenda and the winning businesses and responsible finance providers all contribute to economic growth and the social and environmental vibrancy of their communities.”