Given the importance of new and smaller businesses to the Welsh economy as we emerge out of the pandemic, our next group of politicians should read the recent proposals from Purple Shoots, a not-for-profit micro finance organisation that provides small business loans at fair rates.
With an impressive track record over the last seven years, they have helped to fill a real gap in access to finance to the newest and smallest firms and, in doing so, have made a real difference to the ambitions of those from the poorest communities who want to start their own businesses.
One of their suggestions is to divert one per cent of the £270m recently given to the Development Bank of Wales by the Welsh Government towards funding new microbusinesses employing less than ten people.
Using their own success as an example, Purple Shoots believes that up to a thousand start-up businesses could be funded annually with this £2.7 million, making a real difference across Wales.
Yet this could be far more ambitious given that microbusinesses employing less than ten people generated nearly 74,000 jobs between 2009 and 2019 and were responsible for 52% of all new jobs as compared to 17% for larger firms.
In fact, if a significant proportion of this new funding were to be made available to microbusinesses, this could make a major difference in supporting those individuals who have the drive to establish new jobs in communities in every part of Wales.
With the aim of creating thousands more businesses through small amounts of funding, this would be boost entrepreneurial activity across Wales and dwarf the current efforts of the Development Bank in supporting new firms over the last few years.
More importantly, this would give those individuals who would normally be turned down at the first hurdle - such as those who are unemployed, have poor credit scores and who are surviving on benefits - the small amounts of capital they would need to launch their businesses.
Yes, the vast majority of these new firms are not going to be the tech giants of the future but they are the stable businesses - mobile hairdressers, window cleaners, plumbers, painter and decorators - that underpin many communities across Wales. More importantly, they form the core of the foundation economy that the outgoing Welsh Government has been so keen to support over the last five years.
Given this, you would think that Purple Shoots and similar ventures would be exactly the type of organisation that would be supported by the Welsh Government given its agenda on supporting economic and social aims.
Unfortunately, this has not happened and yet despite this lack of interaction, Purple Shoots has managed to loan out £1.5 million to help over 500 start-up businesses and, in the process, has created over 700 new jobs and had an impact of £15m on the Welsh economy.
More relevantly, over 96% of its borrowers were on benefits when they started their businesses thus ensuring that those most in need were given a critical hand-up to move from being economically inactive to creating a job for themselves and others.
At a time when politicians are still looking to attract marquee brands such as Aston Martin with public subsidies, one can only imagine what a similar level of support would do if it was focused on helping those who are unemployed or struggling to get out of poverty to create a new life or a pathway to financial independence via entrepreneurship.
More importantly, nearly every penny of the profits generated by these businesses will go back into their local economies with every additional job employing someone from the local community.
At a time when there is growing economic uncertainty within our poorest communities in Wales following Covid-19, many of which will have been hit hard through the government shutdown of local businesses, it will be important to help those that can regenerate those communities from within.
Supporting greater entrepreneurship, innovation and productivity in the Welsh economy is going to be critical in any recovery and this will require a variety of policy levers to change the direction of the economy for the better.
Certainly, the next Welsh Government should carefully consider how it should utilise the experience and expertise of those organisations working on the ground to support those with the greatest need to make a success of their lives and fulfil their ambitions to work for themselves, thus boosting local economies across Wales.