Businesses across Kent are being invited to apply for interest-free loans of between £100,000 and £500,000 to help realise their ambitions for growth and support Kent’s economic recovery.

The Viking Maritime Centre in Dover is one of numerous projects that have benefited from KMBF funding

Kent County Council (KCC) is offering a total of £8 million in Kent and Medway Business Fund (KMBF) loans to help small and medium-sized enterprises in Kent and Medway develop new product lines and services, invest in plant, machinery and premises, to boost growth and productivity and create jobs.

Details of the scheme, including who can apply and how visit, are available here: www.kent.gov.uk/business/business-loans-and-funding/kent-and-medway-business-fund/kent-and-medway-business-fund-loans

Businesses interested in finding out more can call the Kent and Medway Growth Hub on 03333 602 300 to speak to an adviser.

Ambitious businesses with sound plans to help grow the Kent and Medway economy must be able to:

• Demonstrate strong and effective plans for growth and innovation, while protecting and creating jobs in Kent and Medway
• Introduce a new product, service, or technology or invest in new processes to improve productivity
• Evidence a pledge to reduce their net carbon footprint; and
• Identify economic support through a Kent-based supply chain.

KCC Leader Roger Gough

Leader of Kent County Council Roger Gough said:  “Kent has a higher number of small businesses compared to the national average so we have really wanted to focus on supporting the County’s SMEs.

“Since 2012, when we first started offering repayable finance through regional growth funding, Kent County Council has supported several hundred small businesses in Kent and Medway through these funds. This has helped create or safeguard more than 5,000 jobs.

“As Kent navigates its journey of economic recovery, we continue to do everything we can to help businesses to grow.”

The funding for the news fund comes from the repayment of previous loans made by KCC under a similar scheme started in 2017.

Derek Murphy, KCC Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “For nearly a decade our loan initiatives have helped a range of businesses.

“Recycling the funding as the loans are re-paid is a fantastically simple, but effective way, of ensuring continued public support for Kent’s hard-working business community as everyone recovers from the widely-felt impacts of the pandemic.

“We want to support as many small businesses as possible with ambition and good ideas, who are looking for a helping hand to get to the next level, to apply.”

Chairman of the KMBF Investment Advisory Board, Sir Paul Carter, said:  “To date more than 350 businesses have benefitted from the Kent and Medway Business Fund.

“Successful companies supported by the fund reflect the range and diversity of businesses located across Kent and Medway, contributing to the success of the country’s economy.”