Santander offers £25,000 to support student businesses during COVID-19

The Santander Covid-19 Hardship Fund has awarded the University £25,000 and has been set up to help students who are being supported by the university’s incubator Launch @SalfordUni by offering those who are facing either personal hardship or business struggles financial aid. So far 26 students have been given assistance.

Launch @SalfordUni is a business incubator which was set up in 2018 to offer support to help students’ and alumni start up their own business. Launch provides a 6-month programme that offers training from Spark2Scale led by GC Business Growth Hub and Santander Universities.

It gives students the facilities to grow their ideas into a business venture with expert support and mentoring, spaces to hot desk and generate ideas, subject specific Q&A sessions facilitated by academic staff from Salford Business School, workshops, and networking showcase events. Launch also gives students access to funding made available through the University and partners Santander and is available to graduates of the University of Salford for life. 

The beneficiaries of the Santander Covid-19 Hardship Fund have been selected by assessing the impact COVID-19 has had on their current and future employability and on their business and ability to trade.

So far, 20 Launch entrepreneurs have received £500 each that have shown significant growth within their business. A further six students have been awarded £2,520 each to fully fund internships that they would have missed out on due to the virus.

Justyna Turner, Incubation Manager at the University of Salford said: “We are so grateful for the hardship fund from Santander Universities. Their continued support and the opportunities they create for our students, especially during the pandemic, has been truly inspiring.

Our Launch students have worked very hard over the last two years to develop and grow their businesses with many of them already accomplishing great things. It’s been especially important that the team at Launch has been there for them during these circumstances. 

It has also been amazing to hear what each of the businesses have been working on and it’s been such a privilege to be able to support them in a time of need.”

Launch entrepreneur and founder of Creative Heights, Corina Sylvie Heath said: “I had to cancel two of my events planned for this year, one in May the other in August. This has resulted in a loss of income, in fact it means no income from the business. Receiving the funding is amazing! What good news! This grant will be such a help in fact it will make all the difference in taking the business forward.”