A consultation was announced for the Isle of Man Government’s proposed £50m Enterprise Development Fund (EDF).
The £50m EDF is designed to support the growth of new business through grants, loans and equity investments for Isle of Man start-ups that are already based on the island, in addditon to start-ups wanting to relocate to the island.
Minister for Economic Development Laurence Skelly MHK said that the proposed EDF is aimed at creating new jobs for Isle of Man-based companies and to future-proof the economy of the island.
Under the new scheme, three support types have been proposed which includes Fledgling element, which is designed to replace the current Small Business Start-Up Scheme and will be managed by the Department of Economic Development.
It will also include an Accelerator for Small to Medium Enterprises with five to 20 employees to enter the next growth phase, and then there will be the Relocator for relocating of medium to large firms to the Island, which will be managed by a professional third party fund manager.
An Expression of Interest is expected to be published by Treasury looking for the appointment by competitive tender of private investment managers for the investment and management of the fund, in regards to ‘Accelerator’ and ‘Relocators.’
Laurence Skelly added: "The level of jobs growth and the evolution in our economy demonstrated in Vision2020 is happening as predicted and nearly 400 additional new jobs were created in the Isle of Man last year.
Content from our partners
"But if we are to maintain the level of public services we expect then it is imperative that we increase the growth in our economy by increasing the numbers in our working population."
