Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank, says it has provided more than £100m worth of funding to business owners aged between 18-24 years old, equating to over 15,000 loans since the programme launched in 2012.

From this national total, £9.1m of funding has been provided to 1,262 businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber.

New data also reveals the most entrepreneurial constituencies in the region. Richmond (Yorks) has received the highest value of loans (£328,478), followed by Wentworth and Dearne (£327,150) and Sheffield Central (£315,400).

Elsewhere in the region, East Yorkshire received 40 loans totalling £312,450; Scarborough & Whitby received 46 loans totalling £290,012; York Central received 26 loans totalling,£256,600 and Selby & Ainsty received 24 loans totalling £237,445

The funding milestone comes as the Start Up Loans programme launches a new information campaign aimed at students considering entrepreneurship as a career option so they can make their business dreams a reality. The advertising campaign is running across 54 UK cities including in Hull, Leeds and Sheffield

Small Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake, who is also MP for Thirsk and Malton, said: “Every large firm started off as a small business and today’s aspiring young entrepreneurs could be the next success story. I urge them to explore how a Start Up Loan could launch their ambitions today.

“Through the British Business Bank, and the Help to Grow campaign, we’ve backed the next generation of business leaders with over £100 million in government backed finance and we’re not stopping there.”

The Start Up Loans programme helps people start or grow their business and is part of the government-owned British Business Bank’s remit to making finance markets work better for smaller businesses. They can borrow up to £25,000 at a fixed interest rate of 6% per annum and repay the loan over one to five years. The programme also provides 12 months of free business mentoring.

For more information, please visit: www.startuploans.co.uk