The north's largest social finance lender has paid out £2m in loans in the first quarter of 2017.
The Ulster Community Investment Trust (UCIT) has experienced its busiest start to a year ever with a record investment in new facilities approved or drawn down in the first quarter of 2017.
The loans, ranging from £20,000 to £220,000, relate to 18 community projects across Northern Ireland and will be used for a variety of purposes including business expansion, capital build projects and property refurbishment.
UCIT has also confirmed that the end of 2016 was a record breaking period with around £400,000 provided to a number of social enterprises and community-based projects in December.
CEO Harry McDaid said the new funds will support job creation, business development and employability.
“Although the social enterprise sector continues to grow, it comes at a time when public funding is tightening and mainstream lenders are focussing elsewhere. Not only is UCIT plugging the gap, but it is also achieving an average loan approval timeframe of only two weeks," he said.
One of the projects recently supported is East Belfast Enterprise, which is in the process of expanding the 'Foundry' - a dedicated space for new small businesses. The space is let to 60 small enterprises employing over 200 people, while the group's support and training programmes help thousands of people in an area of high unemployment and social deprivation.
“Thanks to UCIT there’s now an opportunity to refurbish the existing facilities and expand our operations with the Foundry to provide a niche co-working space for ‘start-grow’ small businesses," East Belfast Enterprise CEO, Jonathan McAlpin said.
Since its inception in 2001, UCIT has provided loan commitments totalling £65m to over 400 social enterprises, small businesses, charities and community organisations. It was established in response to decreasing grants from government and at a time when availability of debt from mainstream banking was diminishing.
