British Business Bank announces Midlands-based First Enterprise – Enterprise Loans as accredited lender for Community ENABLE Funding

First Enterprise – Enterprise Loans is one of two lenders who have been accredited so far, alongside Let’s Do Business in the South East of England.

From May 2025, First Enterprise – Enterprise Loans will be allocated up to £13m under the programme to provide loans above £25k, unlocking capital for underserved smaller businesses across the Midlands. Specifically, these will include those located in disadvantaged areas, who have less awareness of the finance options available to them or those declined by traditional finance routes, like high street banks.

In addition, the programme will seek to target several underrepresented groups, such as female and ethnic-minority led businesses, increasing the diversity of businesses in those areas and improving the small business ecosystem for their customers. 

The programme is also designed to increase the availability of funding to social impact sector lenders, and the smaller businesses they serve in local communities. The programme is aimed primarily at Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and will provide a significant boost to the sector, supporting up to £150m of lending over the next two years.

CDFIs are small, regional, social impact sector lenders that provide debt finance and support to underserved smaller businesses that can find it difficult to access finance from mainstream lenders. One of the key objectives of the programme is to help develop the whole sector, so many more such businesses can access the finance they need.

CDFIs have strong, local knowledge of the smaller businesses they support and the communities they reside in. As such, they are well placed to provide the right finance which can unlock the potential in these communities. Through this knowledge, local CDFIs will help to remove barriers to accessing finance experienced by many businesses, in this case here in the Midlands.

All lending decisions are delegated to Community ENABLE Funding-accredited delivery partners.

Reinald de Monchy, Co-Chief Banking Officer, Products, British Business Bank said: “After the successful launch of the Community ENABLE Funding programme in November 2024, we are delighted that First Enterprise – Enterprise Loans will be one of its first accredited lenders. They have demonstrated a clear passion for supporting smaller businesses in the Midlands and we are excited to see the impact they will deliver for the business community they support.”

Daniel Carrico, Executive Director, First Enterprise, said: “As a not-for-profit organisation that is focused on helping small businesses gain access to finance, being accredited as part of the Community ENABLE Funding programme is a fantastic step forward in our business goals. Our focus on lending into hard-to-reach communities and to people who might struggle to access traditional finance options will be greatly helped by the new funding available through the programme.” 

Theodora Hadjimichael, CEO, Responsible Finance said: “We’re delighted that First Enterprise – Enterprise Loans and Let’s Do Business Finance have become the first accredited lenders for the Community ENABLE Funding programme. We are excited to see the impact they will generate for their small businesses and hope to see more community lenders across the whole UK join them in the coming months.”