Cat cafe owner named as East of England Ambassador 2023 for the Start Up Loans programme

Shelley Smith, (pictured above) the founder of Finnegan’s Whiskers, a cat café and feline foster home based in Sudbury, is among 12 businesses announced as Ambassadors for the Start Up Loans programme, part of the British Business Bank.

Opening later this month, the café is set to be a centre point of the community.

Shelley has partnered with cat rescue centre, Mel’s Rescue, to home cats at the café and alleviate pressure on animal rescue centres.

Visitors to the café will also have the option to adopt cats they interact with and participate in animal therapy sessions. These will be arranged at the café on an ongoing basis, along with events such as crafting and a book club.

In a bid to support other small businesses, she will also be working with local suppliers to offer cakes, brownies, savoury pastries and a range of hot and cold drinks for customers.

The annual Start Up Loans Ambassadors programme, now in its eighth year, celebrates exceptional business owners who have launched an enterprise using funding from the government-backed scheme.

Shelley, of Finnegan’s Whiskers, has been selected as she embodies the can-do mindset it takes to make a start-up successful.

Having taken about a loan of £10,000, Shelley has used the money to pay for the deposit on the new property and to fit it out ahead of opening.

She said: “I am so delighted to have taken the plunge into business ownership. Having worked in radio before having children, I am excited to get my teeth into a new project that involves two things I’m passionate about – cats and helping the community.

“I feel honoured to be recognised as one of this year’s ambassadors and I hope I can inspire other entrepreneurs to consider their options when it comes to financing a business. Finnegan’s Whiskers is a dream business for me and the loan I received from Start Up Loans made my dreams a reality.”

Drawn from each of the UK’s 12 Nations and regions, the 2023 Start Up Loans Ambassadors reflect the broad diversity of sectors and business owners supported via the programme.

Shelley and the other 2023 Ambassadors will be introduced at a launch event in central London that kick-starts a year-long programme which will see the new ambassadors take part in a series of local and national activities, helping inspire and encourage aspiring start-up founders to take the leap into business ownership.

Richard Bearman, managing director of Small Business Lending, British Business Bank, said: “It’s fantastic to see the achievements of business owners like Shelley. Having received her loan only three months ago, it’s remarkable to see the progress she’s made already and it will be exciting to see the positive impact that Finnegan’s Whiskers is going to have on the local community. We’re thrilled Shelley is part of our 2023/24 ambassadors cohort and look forward to watching the café’s transformation over the coming months and years.”

Since its inception in 2012, the Start Up Loan programme has delivered more than 105,000 loans to business owners across the UK, amounting to more than £1bn of funding. Of those loans, 40% of loan recipients have been women and 20% from Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic backgrounds.