The Community Development Finance Association will see its funds swell shortly, as additional monies are made available from the Regional Growth Fund and Unity Trust Bank.

The money is to be dedicated to the creation of jobs in deprived areas. The CDFA will distribute the money to its members, who lend to social enterprises, businesses and individuals in the target geographical locations.

The new funds, some £12 million, is made up of a £6 million grant from the RGF, with a further £6 million loan sourced from Unity Trust. This new money is additional to the £60 million fund already administered by the CDFA.

The CDFA recently published research that illustrated a conservative unfulfilled finance demand of £1.3 billion from the SME sector. It is part of this unmet need that the Government’s Regional Growth Fund addresses.  A £3.2 billion fund operating across England from 2011 to 2017. It supports projects and programmes that lever private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment. You can find out how the RGF works in detail here.