Unlocking Social Enterprise Success

We were thrilled to get this Tweet from our client Key Fund, who we've worked with for a decade! "Thank you @causeuk for all the amazing work you have done…

We were thrilled to get this Tweet from our client Key Fund, who we’ve worked with for a decade!

“Thank you @causeuk for all the amazing work you have done for us! You’ve been invaluable to our brand and have given our copy the impact we’ve needed to make the most of our client stories and support to our #Socent funding. We cannot recommend your services highly enough.”

Award-winning

Earlier this month, Responsible Finance announced their annual Citi Microentrepreneurship Award winners for 2020.

Responsible Finance is the voice of the responsible finance industry and works to increase access to fair and affordable finance. It launched the Citi awards in 2013 in the UK to recognise the best-in-class microentrepreneurs and celebrate the responsible finance sector and their contribution to national economies.

Cause UK is proud to have written the award entries for our client, Key Fund, since 2015. Over the years, we’re helped ensure Key Fund and its clients are finalists, and winners, in these prestigious awards.

In 2020, we helped their clients become finalists in four categories, and Key Fund in two.

We were thrilled that Limitless Travel and HQ CAN both won – both receiving a prize of £7,500.

World-class

Angus Drummond

Birmingham-based Limitless Travel, which makes the world accessible to all disabled travellers, is 2020’s Growth Award winner. Limitless was launched after founder Angus Drummond was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and decided to travel the world – an amazing experience but a discovery of the difficulties of traveling with a disability. His review and advice website for disabled travellers has grown into “more than a travel company,” a proud provider of supported and bespoke holidays for people with a wide range of mobility restrictions and disabilities.

The business has been supported by an incubation programme and seed investment from Key Fund. It now employs 14 people and enables hundreds of people to travel in the UK and worldwide.

On track

Yasin El Ashrafi

Yasin El Ashrafi, founder of HQ Creative Arts Network which uses music and spoken word creation, music studio recording, events, and performances to combat mental ill-health, addiction issues and low confidence, is the UK’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year.

HQ CAN generates income through commercial studio hire, mastering and artist development services, and gives participants a way of making an income with their activities often leading to employment. A business loan and grant package from Key Fund helped Yasin set up an additional recording studio to double capacity for his commercial clients, charitable funded projects, and record label HQ Familia.

Ethical finance

Key fund was also recognised as runner up for the Impact Award for Responsible Finance providers.

Responsible Finance providers are a crucial part of the UK’s financial sector and the leading financial institutions offering affordable finance to many small and micro enterprises, and social enterprises.

The UK’s 5.6 million microenterprises – businesses with 9 or fewer staff – account for 96% of all businesses and employ over 9 million people. Some would not exist at all without the financial and business support they access from the UK’s ethical “responsible finance” sector, which in 2019 lent £171 million to thousands of credit-worthy businesses and social enterprises rejected by or unable to access finance from mainstream lenders. And the sector has provided crucial support to businesses through the Covid-19 crisis.