Wiltshire Community Foundation is working in partnership with the South West Enterprise Fund (SWEF) to provide business grants of £2,000 to young people in Wiltshire and Swindon. 

The programme includes the opportunity to join a network of peers who are also in the early stage of starting their business to share ideas, and experiences and learn. 

In order to be eligible to apply, people must be aged 18 to 30 and living in Wiltshire or Swindon. It is open to those who are either planning to start their own business within the next 6 months or those who have been running their own business which has been trading for no more than 2 years. It hopes to help those who don’t have access to other sources of finance.

The grant can be used towards capital items and running costs such as stock, equipment or materials as well as rent or business-related bills.

Building business and entrepreneurship skills in young people in Swindon has been a priority since the pandemic in order to create more opportunities and has been received really well.

For instance, Intel recently backed an event by The Platform Project which are engaging, motivating and progressing young people into education, work, or self-employment.

For more information about how to apply to the grant, visit this website: https://www.swef.uk/