Step Up: Interest-Free Loans for Social Enterprises
This article answers frequently asked questions about the Step Up programme, including eligibility, repayments, and loan terms.
Our Step Up Investment Manager, Lauren Scott, recently attended the Falkirk Funder’s Fayre, hosted by CVS Fife, where she connected with dozens of budding social entrepreneurs. Many attendees were curious about Step Up, so here’s a quick introduction:
Step Up offers 0% interest loans from £5K to £30K to help social enterprises grow. Whether you’re developing new products, expanding services, or scaling up your operations, this funding can support your trading activities and business growth strategies.
Since we received some recurring questions about Step Up during the event, we thought it would be helpful to share the answers here. If you’d like to learn more about the programme, visit this page.
Q1: What should my organisational structure be?
Your organisation needs to be incorporated, have a registered office in Scotland and have an asset lock. So, companies limited by guarantee, community interest companies limited by guarantee and Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations are the most common types of applicants we see.
Q2: Are there any restrictions on the age of my organisation?
Your organisation can be any age to apply to Step Up – so it could be just a few months old or been around for decades. What really matters is that you can demonstrate how a Step Up loan would really help your organisation to drive business growth.
Q3: How long will Step Up remain interest-free?
Forever. That’s right, Step Up will never charge interest. There are no hidden fees either. Your organisation will only repay the amount it borrows, not a penny more.
Q4: When do we have to start repaying the loan?
As part of the application process, you decide on the repayment plan. Step Up is highly flexible, whether you’re ready to start repaying in 3 months or 8 months, just explain this to us in your application.
Q5: Do I need to provide security or a mortgage to get the loan?
Absolutely not! We do not ask for any form of security or personal guarantees. We see you and your business as separate entities, so you will never be personally burdened by this loan.
If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to Lauren at Lauren@firstport.org.uk