With a record 16,664 startups launched in Northern Ireland last year, British Business Bank director urges greater awareness and uptake of funding to maintain momentum
Despite record business registrations, access to funding remains a key hurdle for Northern Ireland’s entrepreneurs — but support is growing, writes Susan Nightingale of the British Business Bank
When it comes to registering new businesses, Northern Ireland leads the way compared to the rest of the UK’s Nations and regions.
In 2024, an incredible 16,664 businesses started up across the country and according to the Department for the Economy, an increase of 26% and the highest percentage increase of any of the UK nations.
This trend continues into 2025 making it the 11th consecutive year of growth for registered companies.
Outsiders would be forgiven for thinking this part of the world is therefore ideal for start-ups but dig a little deeper and it becomes clear the number of new business launches may be fuelled more by entrepreneurial spirit than an optimum financial landscape.
An entrepreneurial spirit is not always enough to grow and thrive, as not having the right access to finance hinders growth, but with the right finance start-ups can fulfil their potential and make a real impact.
When it comes to making an impact, the British Business Bank is in the entrepreneur’s corner.
In 2024/25 the Bank supported 600 local firms and helped create 1,100 new jobs at businesses right across Northern Ireland.
The Bank’s recently published Power of 10:10 Years of Impact Report shows this support is expected to lead to £300m of additional business turnover, equivalent to an expected boost in economic output of more than £100m over the lifetime of the finance. The Bank’s activities have also supported 5,300 existing jobs across multiple sectors in Northern Ireland.
One of the key drivers of this impact is the Bank’s £70m Investment Fund for Northern Ireland, which last month marked an impressive milestone of £30m of finance deployed to 35 smaller businesses.
Since launch in November 2023, the fund has supported smaller businesses from multiple sectors with investments totalling around £18m. These investments have been the catalyst for the crowding in of an additional £12m in private sector funding.
The Impact Report comes as the Bank gears up to deliver a step change in financing support to smaller businesses after its financial capacity was increased to £25.6bn in June’s Spending Review, enabling it to increase annual investments to around £2.5bn a year and to crowd in more third-party capital.
Help is clearly available for Northern Ireland’s smaller businesses – there are similar impacts being created by other organisations operating here. However, there is clearly a disconnect between the support available to entrepreneurs and their awareness of what is available.
Part of our role at the British Business Bank is raising awareness of the different types of finance available to smaller businesses, whether they want to start, scale up or maintain their position.
A lot of good work is already taking place and we are working with the rest of the small business finance community to help business owners understand more about the support that is out there now and how they can access it to grow and prosper in Northern Ireland.