The Prince's Trust: support for young entrepreneurs

If you’re 18 to 30 and are looking to launch your new start-up idea (or you know a budding entrepreneur who is), The Prince’s Trust could provide the support you’re looking for.

Read on to find out how The Prince’s Trust supports young entrepreneurs, from start-up mentoring to potential funding.

What is The Prince’s Trust?

Founded by HM King Charles III, formerly HRH The Prince of Wales, The Prince’s Trust supports young people to kickstart a career, launch a business, learn new skills, or build confidence.

The Prince’s Trust offers a wide range of resources and support, including business support and mentoring, grants, courses, and qualifications to help young people get into work or launch a business idea.

To date, The Prince’s Trust has helped one million young people to transform their lives, with three in four young people they’ve supported over the last five years having moved into work, education, or training.

Why do young people need help?

Over half of young people aged 18–30 dream of starting a business, but 70 per cent say they don’t know where to start, according to research by The Prince’s Trust.

The biggest barriers to launching a business include:

lack of business skills
access to capital
absence of mentors and networks

Four in five (80 per cent) young people said they think you need industry contacts to start a business, while two thirds (60 per cent) felt they didn’t have the funds to become an entrepreneur.

When young people were asked what would make them more likely to start a business:

46 per cent said “confidence in my own ability”
36 per cent said “having a mentor to provide me with advice and guidance”

What support does The Prince’s Trust offer young entrepreneurs?

The Prince’s Trust website offers a range of tools and resources for young entrepreneurs looking to start a business, including its free Enterprise programme.

And if you want to hear from other young entrepreneurs, you can read up on businesses that have found success with the help of The Prince’s Trust.

How to get Prince’s Trust business support

You need to be aged between 18 and 30. The first step is to sign up to their free Enterprise programme. There are four stages to launching your business, with lots of support along the way, including potential funding and grants.

The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme

The Enterprise programme is available both face to face and online.

Step 1: Info session – receive an invite to a four-day interactive workshop and find out about the support available

Step 2: Workshop – meet other young entrepreneurs and speak to a business adviser about business planning, marketing, sales, budgeting, tax, and more

Step 3: Build your business – work with a mentor to plan and test your ideas, and apply for funding

Step 4: Launch – present your business plan to The Prince’s Trust’s Business Launch Group, who’ll help you make sure your idea is viable and sustainable
Step 5: Support – you‘ll be matched with a mentor, who’ll support you for the first two years after launch. They’ll help you to navigate challenges and champion your successes

Start-up funding from The Prince’s Trust

Before you apply for funding from The Prince’s Trust, you’ll be contacted to discuss your situation. Based on the information you supply, they may recommend a grant, a loan, or a combination of both. Criteria eligibility applies.

You can apply for start-up funding of up to £30,000, which includes:

a start-up grant of up to £5,000 (that you don’t have to pay back)
a start-up loan between £500 and £25,000 provided by the Start Up Loans Company (that you do have to pay back, with added interest)

When you apply for funding with The Prince’s Trust, you’ll be assessed on four criteria:

affordability – whether you can afford regular loan repayments or would be more suited to a grant
eligibility – you’ll need to pass certain checks and complete the Enterprise course
purpose – how you’ll use the money to achieve the goals set out in your business plan
viability – if your business will have enough money to meet its costs

What is the Test My Business Idea grant?

If you’ve completed the Enterprise course, you can also apply for a £500 grant to see if your business idea could work in practice.

This grant is suitable for entrepreneurs who don’t have an established business but have a great idea they’d like to test.

You can use the £500 grant for things like market research to understand if there’s a demand for your product or service – and upskilling so you’re ready to launch your business when the time comes.

Read more about the Test My Business Idea grant on The Prince’s Trust website.

If you don’t meet the criteria for The Prince’s Trust funding, there are a number of other sources of funding for young entrepreneurs. Read our detailed guides on small business grants and small business funding and investment for more information.

Let us know about your experience of starting a new business as a young entrepreneur in the comments below.

More guides for young entrepreneurs

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The Prince’s Trust: support for young entrepreneurs to launch a business