The first Polish grocery store in the heart of Derby’s city centre has opened for business with the help of a small business loan.

Adam and Ewa Strombek, who moved to Derby from Poland five years ago, received support from Small Loans For Business (formally known as Enterprise Loans East Midlands) to help them set up the “Ewa”, translated as Eve, in the Cornmarket.

Established by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and managed by First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA), Small Loans For Business provides businesses and entrepreneurs with loans of between £3,000 and £20,000.

The shop will cater for Derby’s thriving Polish community, currently estimated at more than 6,000 people, as well as those with a taste for Polish delicacies such as wiejska spicy sausage, pickled cabbage, chocolate covered marshmallows and other products that are already established in the UK.

Quamar Zaman, Chief Executive of FEBA, said: “Adam’s experience of grocery shop management has given him strong customer service and financial management skills that, combined with his strong business plan and identification of local demand for specialist groceries, make him an ideal candidate for Small Loans for Business.”

Speaking at the official opening, Adam said: “This is a really proud day for both of us.  When we arrived in Derby five years ago we couldn’t have imagined that we’d eventually be opening our own shop in the city centre. We’d like to thank FEBA for giving us the advice and support we needed to help us realise our dream. We’d like to introduce the local community to new products that cannot be found in other convenience and large retail stores. ”

Offering advice for other budding entrepreneurs, Quamar Zaman said, Small Loans for Business is a sustainable source of funding which addresses the difficulties of accessing finance.

“If you do apply for a small business loan, you will get help and assistance with your application, but it’s important that you are prepared and organised.  Getting your loan approved depends on how well you present yourself, your business and your financial needs.”

John O’Reilly, emda’s Business Support Director, added: “Securing finance to support your business through its early stages is often the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs like Adam. This makes initiatives such as Small Loans For Business crucial.

“I would encourage people with determination and viable business ideas to contact their Business Link advisor and find out about the support services available that could help them make their business propositions a reality.”

Existing entrepreneurs or individuals who are thinking of starting up in business should contact Business Link on 0845 058 6644 or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk

For more details about Small Loans for Business, telephone 0845 602 7355.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of emda by Lava. For further information please contact:

Matt or Louise at Lava on 01522 842 800 or matt@lavapr.co.uk/ louise@lavapr.co.uk/

Notes to Editors:

About emda

East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up in 1999 to bring a regional focus to economic development.

Ten years on, independent evaluation shows emda has:

• Had a significant impact on the region’s economy
• Generated economic benefits that substantially outweigh its overall costs
• Put back over £9 of economic output (or GVA) into the regional economy for every £1 it spends
• Produced more than £1 billion in economic benefits per year
• A wider impact on people, places and businesses in the East Midlands that cannot be captured by figures alone.

emda is committed to supporting the region through the current downturn and has put in place a range of measures to provide real help during these challenging times.

Over the long term, emda’s aim is to deliver the 2006 Regional Economic Strategy (RES) by working in partnership with public, private and voluntary organisations.  The RES highlights the themes of productivity, sustainability and equality and sets out key priorities until 2020 to ensure the vision for ‘a flourishing region’ can be achieved.

For more details visit www.emda.org.uk

About First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA)

• First Enterprise Business Agency (FEBA) was established in 1989 to meet the challenges faced by the ethic minority community by bridging the gap of accessibility of support and provide a confidential and culturally sensitive business support service.
• FEBA is a non-profit-making organisation, which registered as a company limited by guarantee in May 1993 after it gained independence from the Nottingham City Council.
• First Enterprise Business Agency’s (FEBA’s) role is to help people from disadvantaged communities to create and sustain economic advantage through self-employment by providing pre and post start-up support in many forms.
• FEBA is an Enterprise Agency in the East Midlands region with a specialist remit to serve the ethnic minority community, and the disadvantaged groups.
• First Enterprise is a member of the following organisations:

• BERR Approved Enterprise Agency
• Full member of the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA)
• Member of Community Development Finance Association (CDFA)
• Licensed by the Office of Fair Trading under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, license number 381033
• Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce membership number 369975
• Meets the requirements of the National Standard for Effective Investment in People
• Registered for BS EN ISO 9001:2000 certificate number 19088
• Accredited by the Customer First Framework certificate number 1490

Committed to Business in the Community’s Community Mark