Social Impact 2025/26: A year of growth and new milestones
- Eòsaph Macbeth
- Apr 15
- 5 min read
The First Enterprise Management Team
Albert Einstein, you may have heard of him, had a few thoughts on general relativity. Well, he also had a way with words, one such quote being: “Strive not to be a success but rather be of value.”
As it turns out, First Enterprise have something in common with the German physicist (a line we thought we’d never write). We both believe that success comes from being of value.
Our core mission is to help businesses across the UK, but especially the Midlands, start, grow, and succeed. We work hard to empower them with the funding needed to achieve their goals because, as cheesy as it sounds, we really do care.
Our work helps others succeed. Our work provides value. And through that we succeed.
Read on to learn about our past year, the growth we’ve achieved, key milestones reached, and our social impact.
The past year has seen more money lent, more jobs created, and more businesses thrive
To say the last year has been a success would be an understatement. We have seen significant growth in our lending and in doing so have helped a wide range of businesses either startup or continue to grow.
Over the 2025/26 financial year, we:
Lent £22.6 million to businesses, up a significant 73.9% from the £13 million in 2024/25
Helped create 628 new businesses, a 19.9% rise from the 524 in 2024/25
Approved 827 client deals compared to 712 in 2024/25, up 16.2%
Created or safeguarded 1829 jobs, a 46.8% increase on the 1246 in 2024/25.
Axon Point Digital Marketing (a company helped by First Enterprise)
We’re incredibly proud to say we’ve been able to help so many new businesses start this past year, helping hundreds of entrepreneurs achieve their dreams. We’ve also managed to nurture growth at a wide range of existing businesses through our Business Loans, keeping them on track towards their long-term goals.
Last year, we lent £10.5 million through the Start Up Loan scheme and £12.1 million through Business Loans.
While our startup lending increased (up £1.5 million from the previous year), the real boom came through our expansion of Business Loans. We might have channelled a bit of the Artemis astronauts’ energy, as our lending launched upwards by £8.1 million to £12.1 million from the £4 million the previous year —skyrocketing by 202.5%.
Now, we’re not saying we reached the moon (although if you have a rocket propulsion business in need of some growth funding feel free to get in touch), but it does feel pretty out of this world that we were able to help so many businesses over the past year.
Our lending growth has helped us support a greater number of female-led and minority-owned businesses
We are a not-for-profit, FCA-accredited finance provider, led by an entirely minority board of directors. Taking steps to lift up and empower businesses from underrepresented communities is at the heart of what we do.
Our ability to lend more funds this past year has meant we’ve been able to help a greater number of underserved businesses succeed with:
40% of the businesses we’ve supported owned by women (up 3% from 2024/25)
31% being minority owned (up 4% from last year)
A therapeutic session conducted by A Touch of Tapping (a company supported by First Enterprise)
We’ve also set ourselves the goal of engaging with more neurodiverse and LGBTQA+ businesses in the coming year. The more people we can help, the more value we can provide, the more we will succeed.
Some standout businesses from the past year you should definitely check out, include:
Hooked, a Bermudian café and grill in Nottingham
A Touch of Tapping, a therapeutic practice in Lincolnshire
TriboDENS, an engineering firm in Loughborough
Axon Point, a digital marketing company in Nottingham.
Accessing funding helped their businesses on the road to success. It could be the key to unlocking your own business’ untapped potential.
Hooked Bermudian Cafe and Grill (a company supported by First Enterprise)
Getting started is simple. Just get in touch! We’ll take it from there.
As the number of businesses we’ve helped has grown, so have we —and with that has come awards and plenty of new faces
In the year between March 2025 and March 2026, our team has grown from 21 to 28 members. More people means we’re able to:
Review a greater number of applications
Process applications quicker
Provide better, more attentive support.
We’ve also been able to grow departments and promote some valued members of staff.
Our expanded team has been able to attend 49 events as exhibitors and speakers. They’ve hosted two four-week business support courses aimed at helping startups succeed (one in Nottingham and the other Loughborough). And most recently, all that hard work was recognised with the Small Business of the Year accolade at the Nottinghamshire Business Awards.
Executive Director, Daniel Carrico, accepting the Small Business of the Year award on behalf of First Enterprise
Danielle Davis, our Deputy Director, said: “I’m so thrilled with our fantastic team and how much their hard work has helped businesses across the Midlands, and the greater UK, not only get started, but also grow and succeed.
“We’ve managed to help so many minority-owned and female-led businesses, a fact that makes me incredibly proud.”
Daniel Carrico, Executive Director at First Enterprise, pointed out that: “The work never stops. We’re ecstatic with all that we’ve achieved in the past year, and the wonderful businesses we’ve helped. Yet, it doesn’t stop there.
“We’re proud of the award wins, but our true mark of success is in the numbers. The number of businesses empowered, the number of underrepresented communities served, the number of new staff we’ve been able to recruit, the number of ideas we’ve managed to make a reality.
“Every year is a chance to reset, to reflect, to celebrate those wins, and to make sure we’re ready to help even more people in the year to come.”
Starting a business or looking to grow — get in touch today to discuss funding options!
At First Enterprise, we’re always interested in hearing your story, and exploring ways we might be able to help your business succeed.
Our dedicated advisors are here to talk you through our Start Up and Business Loan options, and whether they would be the right fit for your short-term needs and long-term goals.
To get the conversation started, simply get in touch by clicking the contact form below or by calling 03456 027 355.
Albert Einstein had genius ideas, but he also needed people to value and believe in them. At First Enterprise, we’re here to listen to yours — and back them with the support they need.
