In the last five years alone, The Prince's Trust Business Programme has helped more than 1,200 young people from across the region to set up in business through low-interest loans, grants and mentoring for up to three years with access to a new Business Club launched last week.

Fifty-eight per cent of Prince's Trust businesses are still trading into their third year, which compares favourably to the national average. This is despite the fact that the young people we help have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.

With support from the East Midlands Development Agency and Business Link The Prince's Trust in the East Midlands has seen a 40 per cent rise in the number of businesses helped.

We remain a key provider of regional business start-ups and meet the government's guidelines on how businesses start-ups should be delivered.

Nationally, the Programme costs £1 million per month but each pound invested in the loan generates over two pounds in return which directly benefits the region's economy.

I am appealing to Belper's best business brains to pass on their experience to the next generation or help towards offering start-up finance to some of the East Midland's brightest young minds.

By working together to invest in our young people, we can add real value to the communities we live in and to our region's economy.

Mir Juma
The Prince's Trust regional director for the East Midlands