Founder of e-commerce firm Anav named South East ambassador for British Business Bank's loan programme

Published by

Giles Gwinnett

Pallavi Ghosh started up Anav in April 2021 - picture contributed

A business woman, who founded an e-commerce website selling natural homewares, has been named as the South East's ambassador for British Business Bank's Start Up Loans programme.

Pallavi Ghosh started up Anav, based in Milton Keynes, in April 2021 after the Coronavirus pandemic forced her to re-evaluate her priorities.

The ambassadors programme is now in its eighth year and celebrates business owners, drawn from each of the UK's 12 nations and regions, who have launched an enterprise using funding from the government-backed scheme.

"I founded Anav in the middle of my life journey, after I decided to follow my true passion. The roots of my inspiration trace back to my beloved mother, a beacon of homeware elegance and sustainability," said Ghosh.

"My determination was further fuelled by my years of experience working in luxurious 5-star hotels and the iconic Liberty of London."

Ghosh left a career in finance and took out a loan of £19,000 in 2022 to curate and share natural homewares crafted by rural artisans from around the world, drawing inspiration from her mother's passion for home decor and sustainability.

"I took the plunge into business ownership and set up my business in April 2021 before securing a loan in January 2022 to help get established," she continued.

"I used the loan to purchase stock and cover initial expenses like warehouse space. I also made the most of the mentoring offered by Start Up Loans, regularly bouncing ideas off a mentor and staying in touch via regular calls.

"I am thrilled to be chosen as an Ambassador for the Start Up Loans programme and hope to show people that it’s never too late to chase your dream."

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 (not including White Minorities).

The programme provides access to pre-and-post loan support to help applicants to develop a business plan, fixed-interest first and second loans of up to £25,000, as well as mentoring support.

Richard Bearman, the managing director at Start Up Loans said: “We are delighted that Start Up Loans has been able to help businesses like Anav succeed.

"Pallavi is an excellent example of a business owner who has continued to utilise the additional support available via the programme and is still collaborating with her mentor.

"I am so pleased she took up the offer of post-loan mentoring after receiving finance to start her business and we look forward to having her as one of our ambassadors."

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Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.