‘RBS Inspiring Youth Enterprise’ to provide grants of up to £50,000 to organisations supporting youth enterprise

‘RBS-Inspiring-Youth-Enterprise’-to-provide-grants-of-up-to-£50,000-to-organisations-supporting-youth-enterprise

RBS takes action as survey reveals young entrepreneurs are putting business plans on ice.

RBS has pledged to bolster its support for the UK’s young entrepreneurs as new research revealed a “confidence gap” is preventing aspiring entrepreneurs from starting their own business. 

According to the survey by RBS, 60% of 18-30 year olds aim to start a business, compared to 38% of the total adult population. While business ambitions are highest for under-30s, only 8% of these would-be entrepreneurs are actually in the process of starting a business. Fear of failure is the biggest barrier to getting started, accounting for 67% of those under 30, compared to 56% of the general population.

RBS chief executive Stephen Hester has announced a series of measures to encourage youth enterprise as part of the new RBS Inspiring Enterprise initiative. They include: 

  • A new £1.5 million ‘RBS Inspiring Youth Enterprise’ funding pot (£500,000 per year) to provide grants of up to £50,000 to organisations that encourage and support youth enterprise.
  • Renewing and extending the bank’s award-winning partnership with The Prince's Trust, which last year helped 6,000 youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds get the support, advice and finance they need to start up in business.
  • Extending the bank’s commitment to the RBS university enterprise programmes, run by Find Invest Grow (FIG), which recognise and reward the most enterprising student societies and invests in the best business ideas from UK undergraduates and recent graduates. 

Applying for funding is simple and open until 19th October.

Full details, including eligibility criteria are available at http://www.inspiringenterprise.rbs.com/inspiring-youth/apply-funding.

RBS is a founding sponsor of Social Enterprise UK.  The Community Banking Team at RBS plays an active part in making and supporting the social enterprise market.