Press Release

06-05-2020 Social enterprise, Wenta, lobby Government for more small businesses to access immediate cash grants

Leading social enterprise for start-ups and small businesses, Wenta has set up a Government petition for cash grants to be extended to small businesses that don’t qualify for Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR).

The petition is being run alongside the digital campaign of #SmallBusinessCrisisNow and has attracted over 23,000 signatures meaning that Government are now required to provide a response. Wenta is still waiting for this response however, the recent news of Government announcing a ‘top-up fund’ extension to their Small Business Grants fund is a clear sign that their message is being heard. Despite this announcement, there are still many small businesses including a large proportion of small businesses that work from home and small limited companies, that still fall through the gaps of this support. Wenta is therefore calling for further signatures on the petition to achieve 100,000 signatures which will trigger a Parliamentary debate.

The petition has achieved reach from every part of the UK from Cumbria to Cornwall and has been spread largely across social media sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. It has also received support on social media from celebrities such as ‘Goodness, Gracious, Me’ actor and comedian, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Olympic Silver Medalist, Keri-anne Payne.

Wenta’s CEO, Ed Jordan, said:

“Through our combined efforts, working with partners, suppliers, clients, stakeholders and other SME networks, we believe that we can achieve 100,000 signatures. We are in support of the Government’s recently announced measures however there is a real need to understand that millions of small businesses still fall through these support gaps and need cash grants now. Cash - not loans, now - not later. Small businesses are dying by the day. It makes economic sense too – these small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and are tomorrow’s medium and large organisations. There is a much wider message here too – Government need to see small business support as an investment that pays back, not a cost.”

SIGN THE PETITION FOR GOVERNMENT TO EXTEND CASH GRANTS IMMEDIATELY TO SMALL BUSINESSES THAT DO NOT PAY SMALL BUSINESS RATES RELIEF (SBRR) HERE: http://bit.ly/2y3yj3W 

Support this petition further by sharing the link and tagging @thewentagroup on Twitter, /TheWentaGroup on LinkedIn and Facebook and using the hashtag #SmallBusinessCrisisNow 

#SmallBusinessCrisisNow