Young people in Dorset are being given the opportunity to kickstart their businesses through enterprise grants.

Dorset Community Foundation’s SWEF Enterprise and Business Fund is fuelling young peoples ambitions since its launch in 2021, and wants to take on more applications.

The SWEF fund is a private fund that sees young people aged between 18-30 who are developing their business ideas be awarded a grant of £2,000 to help with their project progress.   

It also helps those who have been running their own business for less than two years.

Since its launch, almost 50 young people have been awarded more than £45,000 collectively. The money goes to help the entrepreneurs with rent, equipment and the other bills.

The businesses funded so far range from market gardening to making furniture, clothing to camping vans and recycling to remote bookkeeping. Some of them had already taken their first steps before the funding gave them stability, while others were unable to get beyond their development phase through lack of funding.

Dorset Community Foundation grants manager Ellie Maguire said: “We want to fund young people who are in the first stages of getting their business going. They might have just sold a few items or have done some work for friends or family, and they know they have a viable proposition but they don’t have the capital to really get up and running.”

A £2,000 SWEF grant helped talented artist Anna Stoodley shape her pottery workshops business.

The 29-year-old, from Weymouth, had launched her Pots N Pints workshops in a pub just as hospitality was re-opening after Covid and the grant helped her scale up to take advantage of their growing popularity.

As the workshops grew, she began getting more requests but her limited funds meant her equipment was wearing out. She said: “I needed to replace all my tools and for me to be able to offer more specialist workshops, I needed additional tools.

“It was really nice to be able to look at the workshops more as a business rather than something I just did on the side.”

After a video interview with SWEF grant panel members, and being told she’d been accepted for the grant, she found she had even more faith in her plan. She said: “It gave me a lot more confidence, for sure.

“I’m really grateful for the grant and the money definitely helped. But I think the biggest thing it did for me was having those conversations and looking at my business and realising that if I prioritised making a profit I could actually make a good income.

“The feedback everybody was giving me also gave me lots of confidence that I was actually doing something that was worthwhile.”

Successful applicants are invited to be part of a Zoom network with their peers so they can share experiences and encourage one another.

Dorset Community Foundation chief executive said: “The idea of the fund is not just about supporting some genius with an idea that will change the world, it’s for ordinary, hard-working people who just want to utilise their skills, energy and courage to change their future but don’t have parents who can afford to fund them or savings in the bank.

“No matter what the business, whether it is capable of growing to employ 20 people or a self-employed worker providing a brilliant service to their community, we see the value in it.

“We’ve loved working with the SWEF team and it has been truly inspiring to see young people making the most of the opportunity. Now as we go into 2024 we want to see more.”

Find out more about eligibility and how to apply at dorsetcommunityfoundation.org.