Community Investment Enterprise Fund

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Background

Small businesses are essential in disadvantaged communities across the UK, both as employers of local people and drivers of economic activity.

Yet many micro and small businesses (MSMEs) are unable to access mainstream finance to grow their businesses, even if they are creditworthy.

While MSMEs can sometimes access finance from socially motivated lenders, such as Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), the CDFIs themselves face barriers to achieving long-term sustainability and securing significant capital at scale to meet the demand of small businesses. The Community Investment Enterprise Fund bridges the funding gap.

Vision

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Supporting Community Enterprise

The Community Investment Enterprise Fund supports local enterprises to improve people’s lives and the communities where they operate.

A new phase

The Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF) was first established in 2018 seeded by Better Society Capital (previously known as Big Society Capital) with matched funding from Triodos Bank and Unity Trust Bank. While meeting its objectives, the first phase of CIEF also played a critical role in delivering the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), and later the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS).

2024 welcomes the launch of a new £62 million investment fund to help small businesses across England and Wales access finance to support local jobs and economic activity.

The next phase of CIEF aims to invest in 800 small businesses, supporting around 10,500 jobs with at least half of those small businesses based in the UK’s most deprived areas.

Funded by Lloyds Bank, Better Society Capital and with contributions from the three participating CDFIs (BCRS Business Loans, Business Enterprise Fund and Finance For Enterprise), the Fund provides these CDFIs with the capital they need to meet demand from small businesses.

Partners

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Main Logo Better Society Capital
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BCRS Business Loans (2)

Deployment

Working with cornerstone funders, Lloyds Bank, Better Society Capital and three CDFIs, SIS is responsible for deploying £62 million of new CIEF funding, providing growth capital to MSMEs who are unable to access mainstream funding.

Latest CIEF News

Impact so far

Micro and Small Businesses (MSMEs)

951

supported

with

£70.6M

of loans

Ridgeway (2)

Case study

Ridgeway Manufacturing

Ridgeway Manufacturing Limited secured funding from the Community Investment Enterprise Fund (CIEF) managed by BCRS Business Loans, and backed by the Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) to safeguard 15 jobs and recruit a sales manager and apprentice welder.

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Estates Tea Company

Case study

Estate Tea Company

Tom Webb of Heaton-based specialist tea merchant, Estate Tea Company secured funds from Finance for Enterprise to successfully transform a former plumber’s merchant into a day-to-night haven for the North East's tea lovers.

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Solec Energy (1)

Case study

Solec Energy

A Leeds-based solar energy firm, Solec Energy Solutions owned by husband and wife team Robert and Gaye Wilmot invested in stock and people following a £50,000 loan from Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) and FFE Microfinance, as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund. 

  

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Evaluation

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Analysis

For a more in-depth evaluation of CIEF's impact across England and Wales to date, please visit the evaluation dashboard.

CIEF Evaluation Dashboard

Previous Reports

  • Evaluation of the Community Investment Enterprise 2019-2021

    This is the Interim Report of the Evaluation of the Community Investment Enterprise Facility (CIEF), undertaken by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University. Previous reports from this evaluation include the 2019 and 2020 annual reports (Dayson and Damm, 2020, 2021), and a thematic report into the CDFIs’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Damm, Dayson and Leather, 2021). The aim of this report was to provide a holistic stocktake of progress three years into the CIEF project. First posted on 14/12/2022.

    Download

  • Evaluation of the Community Investment Enterprise Facility 2020

    This is the Second Annual Report of the Evaluation of the Community Investment Enterprise Facility (CIEF) undertaken by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University. CIEF invested into four CDFIs across the UK between 2018-25, to help meet the needs of underserved micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which had a positive impact in the disadvantaged communities where they operate. These four CDFIs were identified as market leaders with sufficient scale, reach and lending track record to support the goals of the CIEF. First posted on 08/04/2022.

    Download

  • Dashboard to accompany the CIEF Annual Report 2020

    This dashboard shows how community-based lending reached left behind and underserved communities in 2020. First posted on 07/04/2022.

    Download

  • Evaluation of the Community Investment Enterprise Facility Deep dive: CDFIs’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic

    This report forms part of the Evaluation of the Community Investment Enterprise Facility (CIEF) undertaken by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University. Its purpose was to take a more in-depth look at the impact of COVID-19 upon the CIEF fund and the four Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) involved in its delivery. First posted on 07/04/2022.

    Download

  • Evaluation of the Community Investment Enterprise Facility 2019

    This is the first Annual Report of the Evaluation of the Community Investment Enterprise Facility (CIEF) undertaken by the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CRESR) at Sheffield Hallam University. First posted on 16/09/2020.

    Download

  • Dashboard of accompany the CIEF Annual Report 2019

    This dashboard shows how community-based lending reached left behind and underserved communities. First posted on 16/09/2020.

    Download

Get in touch

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