"Small businesses are at the heart of the UK economy and it’s vital they are able to access a range of funding choices when they need it."
The funds will be used to help broaden and encourage wider choice of funding for SMEs across the UK, particularly those in underserved local communities.
The Capability and Innovation Fund was created to encourage the development and improvement of financial products and services available to UK SMEs.
Funding Options has pledged to use this grant to deliver £0.5 billion of new alternative lending to UK small businesses by the end of 2022. This means that for every £1 of grant money received, Funding Options aims to deliver £100 in new lending to SMEs.
The funds will also be used to drive the wider adoption of Open Banking among UK SMEs, including an innovative new service to encourage small firms to seek a better business bank account provider.
Conrad Ford, CEO and founder of Funding Options, said: “Small businesses are at the heart of the UK economy and it’s vital they are able to access a range of funding choices when they need it.
"Winning this grant from the Capability and Innovation Fund helps us accelerate our plans to help SMEs across the country achieve their goals. It will help us develop much needed technology solutions to support small businesses in local communities to access funding, and it will also enable us to continue to grow the alternative lending market. We have already delivered £0.25 billion in funding for more than 5,000 hard-pressed UK small businesses, from Cornwall to Skye, and from Northern Ireland to Norfolk.”
