Camden Council is launching a new grant support scheme for local people to start and grow businesses and social enterprises.

The Future Camden Fund is aimed at businesses under five years old, with an initial £150,000 of grants and a further £400,000 in grants and loans.

It is intended to support entrepreneurs from backgrounds that are often locked out from other sources of finance, including those often from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with a disability, care leavers and female business founders.

Councillor Danny Beales, cabinet member for investing in communities, culture and an inclusive economy, said: "In Camden, we’re at the forefront of supporting start-up businesses, with recent research indicating that Camden has the highest number of start-ups in London.

"We are committed to assisting all of our residents to achieve their own business goals. No one should be prevented from launching their own business because of where they were born, their background, or that they may lack family financing. If people have promising business ideas, we want to make sure they can make them a reality in Camden.

"The Future Camden Fund is the first of its kind for a London borough and is an exclusively local impact fund that combines grants with a repayable element, alongside free business support. I’m certain this fund will go a long way to support local new businesses and entrepreneurs across the borough and to help make sure our local economy is not only growing, but also growing more equally across all our communities."

The council has commissioned Social Investment Business (SIB) – a social investor which supports charities and social enterprises to become more resilient and sustainable – to manage the funding over the three-year pilot period.

Free business support will be offered to recipients, including mentoring, learning courses and peer support.

Local start-up businesses and social enterprises will be able to apply from Monday, January 24 and the fund will be receiving applications for five days.

For more information on the scheme and how you can apply, visit www.camden.gov.uk/future-camden-fund