Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay, has welcomed the launch of the £40 million Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund.
The Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSF) will boost the local economy by providing debt and equity finance to help growing small businesses across the region.
The fund has been established in partnership with the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and UK Government to provide local businesses with more funding options to help them grow and create jobs.
CIOSIF has been designed following input from local business groups, funders, business advisers and the LEP and will provide debt and equity finance from £25k to £2 million. It is expected to unlock a further £40 million of private investment.
Commenting Steve said:
“I am delighted to see today’s launch of the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund.”
“I am pleased to have worked with the LEP and Cornwall Council to ensure this important fund is now available to support our local economy.”
“This is something I have worked long and hard, with all levels of the Government to bring about, and will unlock millions of pounds of investment for our hardworking small businesses in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”
“The programme had stalled due to EU red tape last year and I met with Business Minister Andrew Griffiths to discuss the problems and the importance of the fund to Cornwall, and I am pleased, a short while later, to see this launch.”
“I look forward to seeing how this fund will positively impact on our businesses and continuing to do all I can to ensure Cornwall gets the funding we need to grow and prosper.”