Application Questions
Who is eligible for the Diversity Fund?
An entrepreneur/business owner is eligible for the Diversity Fund if they are from a diverse background and make an impact in ONE or more of the following three areas:
- The Creative Industries:
Such as:
- Architecture
- Combined arts
- Crafts
- Culture and heritage in the natural environment
- Dance
- Fashion design & textiles
- Film, TV, Photography
- Gaming/Video Games
- Graphic design
- Heritage
- Libraries & archives
- Literature
- Museums
- Music
- Sector support organisation
- Theatre and performance
- Visual arts
- Workspace provider for the creative industries
2. Local Employment, specifically organisations:
- Employing local residents in the London Borough of Camden
- Creating pathways into employment through retraining, skills-building, mentoring, or apprenticeships.
- Supporting local people into self-employment or new business start-up opportunities.
3. Local, Community-Focused, and Inclusive Businesses
- Is a small, local, independent enterprise rooted in the community.
- Serves or empowers under-represented, minority, or excluded groups (e.g., culturally specific food or health businesses, safe-space barbershops, community cafés).
- Provides or enhances inclusive, accessible, and culturally relevant community spaces.
- Contributes to reducing isolation, strengthening community connections, sustainability and building pride in place.
How do you define diverse entrepreneur or business owner?
The Fund will invest in diverse entrepreneurs or business owners who identify with at least ONE of the following:
- From a socio-economically disadvantaged background
- Black, Asian, or from other ethnic communities
- Disabled and / or neurodivergent
- Women
- LGBTQIA+
- Young entrepreneurs under the age of 35
Does my business need to be based in Camden?
No, but you do need to be making an impact or operating in Camden on the date of submission of your application.
Why am I receiving an error message when I create an account after clicking 'Start Application'?
If you have previously clicked the 'Start Application' button to apply and added your email you will need to click the 'Continue Application' button to start or continue an application in the future. If you have not verified your email you will still need to click 'Continue Application'.
Please contact CommunityWealthFund@camden.gov.uk if you continue to experience issues with your application.
What’s the difference between the Youth Fund and the Diversity Fund?
Camden Community Wealth Fund is a £30 million investment fund that will provide repayable loans and equity finance to help local people grow businesses that empower young people or are run by a diverse group of people. In its first year, the fund will invest £4 million through two pilot programmes:
- Our Youth Pilot will invest £2m in businesses empowering young people. This investment fund is closed and our young people panel is currently making decisions.
- Our Diversity Pilot will invest a further £2m in businesses led by entrepreneurs or business owners from a diverse background making an impact in Camden in the areas described in Question 1. Diverse entrepreneurs and business owners can apply for investment in February and March.
Do I need to be making revenue?
Yes, businesses who are not generating revenue will unfortunately not be eligible for the fund.
Do I need a financial model to apply?
Applicants with a completed financial model and accounts will be prioritised in the process. All applicants will need a financial model by end of May 2026 in order to proceed in the process – you can find what a financial model is here. If you would like a template of the financial model or need more information please contact us here
Can I re-apply if I am rejected?
Yes, if you are found to be ineligible but then change your eligibility, then you are welcome to re-apply to the Camden Community Wealth Fund’s Diversity Fund.
What if an application is not the best way for me to present my business?
The application form allows all your details to be uploaded onto our database so we can track you through the investment process, so unfortunately you will need to fill out an application form so we can make sure an Investment Manager is assigned to your case.
However, you are welcome to upload other information as there is the possibility of doing this within the form (only xls or pdf format permitted however).
If you need support or have any questions about the fund, email CommunityWealthFund@camden.gov.uk to get support filling out the form, or discuss any accessibility needs. Or you can join us at an entrepreneur information session:
Will you hold my data?
Applications and organisational details are held on our database for up to 10 years. This is to help us keep a record of organisations who might submit numerous applications and/or organisations receiving finance where this is the length of their repayable term. You can contact us to request your data be fully deleted at any time by emailing us on CommunityWealthFund@camden.gov.uk.
Do you invest outside of the UK?
No, unfortunately we cannot invest in businesses based outside of the UK.
Are there any priority sectors or types of businesses?
An entrepreneur/business owner is eligible for the Diversity Fund if they are from a diverse background and make an impact in ONE or more of the following three areas:
The Creative Industries:
- Architecture
- Combined arts
- Crafts
- Culture and heritage in the natural environment
- Dance
- Fashion design & textiles
- Film, TV, Photography
- Gaming/Video Games
- Graphic design
- Heritage
- Libraries & archives
- Literature
- Museums
- Music
- Sector support organisation
- Theatre and performance
- Visual arts
- Workspace provider for the creative industries
Local Employment, specifically organisations:
- Employing local residents in the London Borough of Camden
- Creating pathways into employment through retraining, skills-building, mentoring, or apprenticeships.
- Supporting local people into self-employment or new business start-up opportunities.
Local, Community-Focused, and Inclusive Businesses
- Is a small, local, independent enterprise rooted in the community.
- Serves or empowers under-represented, minority, or excluded groups (e.g., culturally specific food or health businesses, safe-space barbershops, community cafés).
- Provides or enhances inclusive, accessible, and culturally relevant community spaces.
- Contributes to reducing isolation, strengthening community connections, sustainability and building pride in place.
What type of investment do you offer?
The Diversity Fund offers revenue shares or low interest debt.
What type of company do I need to be?
To apply, you need to be established as a company, cooperative, community benefit society, a Community Interest Company (CIC) or a charitable organisation.
We are open to early stage and more established companies, charities or social enterprises so long as you are generating revenue and demonstrating your impact.
Unfortunately, we can’t accept applications from sole traders. We also can’t accept applications from Camden Council staff members.
What’s the minimum and maximum I can borrow?
£20,000 to £500,000
Can I apply to the Diversity Fund if I already applied to the Youth Fund?
Yes, you can apply to the Diversity Fund if you had applied to the Youth Fund last year and didn't receive funding.
Please be aware that the eligibility criteria is different from the Youth Fund, so make sure that you check the criteria before applying.
You will need to submit a new application to reference the Diversity Fund's eligibility criteria and share how you meet them. If you think we hold some up-to-date information about your business, please get in touch and we can advise if there are any parts of your application that don't need to re-submitted.
Diligence Questions
How long is the diligence process?
It is expected to take 4-6 months to complete due diligence.
What do I need to prepare for diligence?
- A growth plan setting how investment will lead to growth and how repayments on the debt will be made
- A financial model setting out the numbers behind your growth plan
- Historic financial statements going back for at least three years or as long as the organisation has been operating for
- Details on sales, for example an invoice list setting out historical customers over the last few years
- An understanding of your key competitors (this might form part of your business plan)
- An understanding of the market you operate in (this might form part of your business plan)
- Information on key team members in the organisation and their experience
Investment Questions
What types of funding are available (e.g., grants, loans, equity)?
The diversity fund offers low cost loans i.e. loans on a low interest rate basis of maximum 5% and revenue share agreements.
What is a revenue share investment?
A revenue share investment is where your investment is paid back through a percentage of your revenue (3-7%) over the course of the investment terms.
Is the funding repayable? If so, under what terms?
Yes. For loans, we can offer a repayment holiday of up to two years and then an equal payment made up of capital and interest payment will be made after that, based on your individual financial circumstances.
For revenue share agreements, we can offer a repayment holiday up to one year, and then you will be required to pay off the investment as a percentage of the revenue you make, based on your individual financial circumstances.
Will you take equity in my business?
No.
Legal Questions
What legal agreements will I need to sign?
You will need to sign a loan agreement or a revenue share agreement. This is being prepared in accordance to Equalising Deal Term principles which aims to reduce unnecessary burdens on the organisation taking on investment and unnecessary requests to reduce risk from the lender.
Will I need a lawyer?
You are welcome to use a lawyer to review the loan agreement. However, we will be issuing standard agreements created on Equalising Deal Term principles to make it fairer for organisations taking on investment.
Are there any restrictions on how I use the funds?
You will need to use them to enact the plan you set out in the investment proposal. You will have some freedom and flexibility within this.
Post Investment Questions
What happens if I can’t repay?
Let your investment manager know as soon as possible if you are experiencing issues and we will try to come to an agreement about how to proceed.
Will there be reporting requirements?
Yes, you will be required to provide regular updates on your progress from a financial and social impact perspective.
Can I apply for follow-on funding?
At the moment we do not have any follow-on funding opportunities.
What happens if my business pivots or changes direction?
Let your investment manager know as soon as possible so that we can determine whether there needs to be any changes to your loan agreement.
