Community Development

As you may know, the ‘CD’ in our name stands for ‘Community Development’. Our Community Development objective is simple – we want to make careers in enterprise more accessible to communities that are excluded or underrepresented in business. 

We recognise that enterprise can be a powerful vehicle for change, and so have decided to focus our community development activity on enabling enterprise to thrive in the City of Bristol.  Our strategy revolves around providing groups that are excluded from support or underrepresented in enterprise with access to learning opportunities, mentoring and funding, helping them to overcome barriers to starting and growing a business.

We believe that this work has enormous potential for catalysing development, growth and hope, creating a ripple effect of positive socio-economic externalities in the city. We want to make starting a business achievable for everyone – especially the most disadvantaged people in our city.

Access to Enterprise

We want to make starting a business achievable for everyone – especially the most excluded people in our city. During our support, we walk individuals from the idea phase, right the way through to launch, completely free of charge. We work through established partners in target communities to provide this free support to aspiring founders and entrepreneurs.

We work exclusively with people who are living in low income communities or are experiencing social or economic disadvantages.  To cater to all learning styles we deliver our support in a variety of ways, including online courses, interactive workshops and intensive one to one mentoring.

We take a non-transactional, relational approach, focusing on the needs and ambitions of the individual, and tailoring our support around this. Our interventions are practical and action focused, thoroughly preparing individuals for trade and allowing them to go to market with confidence. This support is accessible by referral through our key partners and is funded by the generosity of our patrons.

Case Study: Marianna is a Bristol based artist and creative. Her business, City Cat Crafts, sells homeware, decor, and artwork at local markets throughout the region. It was at the Knowle West Community Market where she was first introduced to BCDF.  In the last 18 months, Marianna has come on leaps and bounds with the help of mentoring from us. We wish her continued success with her venture!

BCDF Micro Loan Fund 

We provide small loans of £500 to small businesses and start-ups in Bristol from target communities. These loans can be used to help new and growing businesses to make purchases that support their development. This loan is designed to support business owners who cannot access funding elsewhere. Please note, we only accept applications from business owners referred to us by partner organisations. Borrowers may be eligible to top up this loan with an additional £500 depending on loan performance, allowing them to access to up to a max of £1,000 per business.

Other features of the loan include:
– unsecured with a personal guarantee
– one month payment holiday
– terms of 12 months
– monthly repayments
– fixed rate of 19% APR
– no early repayment fee

Representative Example:
Loan Amount – £500
Term – 12 months
Interest – 19% APR
Arrangement Fee – £50
Monthly Repayment – £53.75
Total Repayment – £645