Partner Article

TV food star presents cheque to social enterprise

Celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall presented a cheque for £40,290 to The Bicycle Academy, marking a successful ‘crowd-funded’ scheme.

The money was raised in just 6 days, through the Peoplefund.it website, and founder Andrew Denham was on hand to receive the cheque.

Hugh’s team have pioneered the site, which The Bicycle Academy used to ask people for backing.

Investment was needed to establish an innovative bicycle building academy, teaching students how to construct bike frames which will then be distributed across Africa through partner charities; providing a vital transport link to food, water and education.

Andrew said: “It’s fantastic to be presented with this cheque by Hugh. We owe a very big thanks to Peoplefund.it and the people who backed us.

“We’ve been working towards this for some time, so it’s a great feeling knowing that we’ll definitely be setting it all up as planned.

“The response to our Peoplefund campaign has been overwhelming.”

The concept of Peoplefund.it allows people with a potentially game-changing business idea to ask the general public for funding they need to set up or expand.

A target is set for the money, and the organisation set out how the cash will be used, encouraging small pledges.

Nick Underhill, managing director of KEO Digital, the group behind Peoplefund.it, said: “It’s a simple, powerful idea. Great ideas can come from anywhere, as long as they might just change the world.

“Pledges start at £1 and money doesn’t leave anyones account until the target is raised.

“We are looking for good ideas that may just make a global difference and we want to empower people to take positive action.”

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, said: “The success of our Fish Fight, Landshare, and Chicken Out campaigns have shown that solutions and impetus often come from grass roots collective action, and have the power to effect more remarkable change than we really ever imagined.

“Peoplefund.it builds on that momentum and gives people the means to take their ideas forward. We want it to be a fantastic tool for entrepreneurs and idealists who capture the popular imagination.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .