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Nationwide launches startup challenge to tackle poverty premium 24 February 2021
1 Nationwide Building Society has launched a start-up challenge, calling for ideas to help tackle the so-called poverty premium, which sees poor people pay more for essential services.
According to Fair By Design, the lowest paid Brits are subject to a poverty premium of up to an extra £478 a year for essentials due to increased costs of services and access to finance.
The number of households affected is on the up thanks to Covid-19, with the Legatum Institute estimating that almost 700,000 additional people faced poverty during the Winter of 2020 as a result of the pandemic.
On the face of it, Britain’s venture capital firms have never been more ready to invest in your start-up. British venture capital funds have £8.4bn ready for investment in fast-growth businesses, according to research. Indeed, British tech start-ups raised more than £4bn between January and June, despite the shutdown of the economy, according to the government.
This venture capital cash could provide crucial investment for innovative companies as the country emerges from the Covid-19 crisis.
However, the reality is that many venture capital investors are playing it cautious, wanting to invest in later, safer funding rounds for companies with proven revenue. Two fifths of start-ups believe they have less than 12 months’ worth of runway left before they run out of money. Over 1,000 of the UK’s high-growth tech start-ups have gone bust since lockdown began. Which is why follow-on funding rounds are crucial.