Furthering their commitment to offering alternative finance and supporting the creative industries, Creative England has invested £150k in the UK’s crowdfunding network, Crowdfunder UK. Caroline Norbury, CEO of Creative England has also joined the Crowdfunder Board, effective immediately.
The news comes as a recent report from Nesta found that the alternative finance market is expected to grow to £1.74 billion this year, providing over £1bn of growth and working capital to over 7,000 SME’s. Norbury shared, “We know that there is a wealth of talented individuals and businesses in the regions that have a great idea and a great business plan, but have trouble accessing finance through traditional routes. Crowdfunding continues to grow as a fantastic way to launch new projects and, by working together, there’s the opportunity for us to mix this with private and public funding, meaning projects and businesses have an even greater chance of finding creative and commercial success.”
MD of Crowdfunder UK, Phil Geraghty, noted, “We are delighted to announce our relationship with Creative England and welcome Caroline to our Board. Crowdfunding is fast becoming an essential tool for those distributing funds. This investment from Creative England is a clear indication to the whole UK funding industry that they need to understand and be using crowdfunding to engage with the UK public.”
This announcement follows Creative England’s and Crowdfunder’s first joint campaign, Queen of Code, which invites female games makers to upload their projects on to the Crowdfunder platform. The first five to hit their target are each due to receive an additional £3k boost from Creative England. The investment from Creative England is supported by the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) and follows funding from Nesta.
Creative England invests in and supports creative ideas, talent and businesses in film, TV, games and digital media. The organization aim to grow the brightest, the best, and those with the most promise so that individuals and businesses can achieve their full creative and commercial potential. It also help identify future opportunities to grow the economy and generate jobs.
