100k fund to drive student entrepreneurship at Northumbria University

A new £100,000 fund designed to get start-ups investor ready has been made available to student entrepreneurs at Northumbria University.

Starting this year, the fund is supporting the development of student businesses through the EBM Business Awards initiative.

Students on the Entrepreneurial Business Management (EBM) programme can access the funding to develop their companies by taking part in a competitive pitch to an independent panel.

Awards ranging from £500 to £5000 will be available to first, second and third year student businesses, with those who demonstrate the greatest potential to become investment ready by graduation set to benefit the most.

The funding is intended to be used for external input to support things like the development of business plans, financial projections and get presentations ready to pitch to potential investors, as well as covering some operational expenditure.

Lucy Hatt, senior lecturer and EBM programme leader at Northumbria University, explained: “The EBM programme is all about experiential learning designed to empower our students to create and explore how to manage and grow their own businesses independently.

“Being based in the North East with ongoing plans to remain in the region, coupled with a significant potential to create jobs locally, is a prerequisite for all businesses taking part in the competition.

“This approach reflects the aims of the charitable trust behind the donation, which seeks to encourage job creation, drive business growth and support the growth of the economy in the North East.

“It has created a fantastic opportunity for our students who will benefit from valuable access to finance, gain important experience presenting in a competitive pitch setting and help them to prepare and appeal to future investors.”