Neighbourhood Stories
Creative Industries Development Agency
Creative Industries Development Agency (Cida) stimulates and supports the growth of cultural industries in the Yorkshire and Humber region. It does this by providing business and development support to organisations and enterprises working within the sector and offering support to individuals working or wanting to work in this field. Since its inception in 2000, Cida has delivered 19 programmes of support, created more than 600 jobs and advised over 1,300 creative businesses.
In September 2006 Cida secured a contract, worth a total of £251,000, to develop a framework of skills competencies for the creative and digital industries sector in Singapore. Payment for the contract was due in three instalments, but delays during the second phase of the project meant that the second payment of £164,000 was still outstanding. This delay had therefore placed significant pressure on Cida’s cash flow. Cida had managed to secure a loan of £40,000 and an overdraft of £35,000 but this was not enough to adequately cover its cash flow requirements.
Cida approached its two main creditors for further extensions but was not successful. They therefore approached the Key Fund for support in the form of a loan to cover the gap in finances.
In July 2007 the Key Fund provided Cida with a loan of £30,000 to be issued in two equal instalments. The loan was offered on the condition that Cida obtained a written agreement from the Singapore Government to confirm that it would honour the contract payments.
The loan from the Key Fund has allowed Cida to continue with its work in Singapore without interruption. Without the support from the Key Fund, Cida would have struggled to cover its cash-flow requirements until the second contract payment was received.
