Funding for graduate businesses varies, says NCGE

University leavers have been warned that access to entrepreneurial funding is subject to huge variations across the country.

Lorna Collins of Flying Start for the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) explains the amount of money requested and type of business it will be used for determines whether financial support applications are approved.

She explains: 'There isn't a specific graduate set-up pot of money that is national, but there are many other grants and funds set up, and loans available.'

Of these, Ms Collins adds most are targeted specifically at certain types of ventures, making more generic requests less likely to succeed.

One way of increasing chances however, is for graduates to concentrate their effort on projects that are 'regionally based'.

Setting up self-run businesses is becoming increasingly popular among graduates and older entrepreneurs alike.

According to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, there were an estimated 4.5 million business enterprises in the UK at the start of 2006, an increase of 125,000 (2.9%) on the start of 2005.