This partnership aims to support The Prince’s Trust in sustaining its Enterprise Programme, which provides young individuals aged 18-30 with the necessary support and funding to explore and launch their own businesses with guidance from the Trust’s staff and volunteer business mentors.

With over half of young adults aged 18-30 aspiring to start their own businesses, yet 70% uncertain of how to begin, Simply Business is committed to making a difference as a staunch advocate for small enterprises.

Key points on inclusive entrepreneurship with The Prince’s Trust

A significant gap exists between the entrepreneurial aspirations of young people and their actual steps towards self-employment or business ownership.

The partnership with The Prince’s Trust offers Simply Business an opportunity to empower the forthcoming wave of small business proprietors, focusing on aiding those facing significant obstacles to success, including young entrepreneurs from marginalised groups.

The Prince’s Trust Young Entrepreneurship Review highlights three primary barriers to entrepreneurship: access to finance and support, confidence and expectations, and networks.

This three-year alliance aims to bridge young aspiring business owners with essential skills, funding, and mentorship, marking a significant chapter in Simply Business’s journey of championing underrepresented individuals and communities, and driving towards a more inclusive and resilient small business sector.

The choice of The Prince’s Trust as a non-profit partner was made by Simply Business employees. To celebrate the initiation of this partnership, a 10,000-step challenge is being launched for the month of February. In the past three years, Simply Business has raised over £450,000 in partnership with Mind, a leading mental health charity, and from 2018 to 2021, collaborated with Whizz-Kidz, a charity for disabled children, contributing over 500 volunteering hours and raising more than £340,000. Since 2017, Simply Business has been proud to hold B Corp certification, being among the first insurance firms to do so.

This new partnership with The Prince’s Trust is part of Simply Business's ongoing commitment to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as they navigate the ongoing cost of living crisis in the UK. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Simply Business launched its inaugural Business Boost grant. Over the past four years, the initiative has offered a yearly £25,000 cash boost to one small business, attracting over 75,000 applications, and distributing more than £85,000 in cash grants to date.

Alan Thomas, UK CEO at Simply Business, comments: “At Simply Business, we’re passionate about creating a more inclusive and resilient small business community by supporting underserved people and communities and are delighted to announce our new charity partnership with The Prince’s Trust, one the UK's leading youth charities.

“It’s never been more important to support young people, with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis making it a difficult environment for new and existing young entrepreneurs.

“Our new partnership with The Prince’s Trust demonstrates our ongoing commitment to support young people and make these support services more accessible to greater numbers of small business owners and self-employed workers as they seek to navigate these challenging times. We are delighted to support The Prince’s Trust in inspiring positivity and belief so young people know that they can achieve their ambitions.”

Sophie Morrell, Director of Corporate Partnerships at The Prince's Trust said: "We're delighted that Simply Business have chosen us as their new non-profit partner. Their ambition of creating a more inclusive and resilient small business community resonates with our mission to support young people wanting to explore self-employment. We are thankful for their commitment to provide the best possible support for young people wanting to start their own business and are excited about our collaboration to foster the next generation of small business owners."