Lloyds bank is looking to grant 300 aspiring entrepreneurs up to £19,000 each this year under its School for Social Entrepreneurs programme.

In addition to the grant the new students on the programme will receive a fully-funded year-long training programme at the school and will work with a dedicated business mentor provided by the bank for 12 months to help them get their business off the ground.

Finance for the programme is being provided by Lloyds and the Big Lottery Fund. It was launched in 2012 and has trained 748 entrepreneurs so far.

The ambition is to support around 1,300 social entrepreneurs by 2017.

Taster sessions will be held in England and Scotland during February and March. They will showcase what’s on offer and how entrepreneurs are supported.

The locations are:

• Aldershot

• Basingstoke

• Birmingham

• Bristol

• Cornwall

• Dundee

• Durham

• Edinburgh

• Gateshead

• Glasgow

• Leeds

• Liverpool

• London

• Manchester

• Middlesbrough

• Plymouth

• Southampton

• Stirling

• Sunderland

Graham Lindsay at Lloyds said: “I have seen first-hand the positive impact that social entrepreneurs have in our society, and know of the immense benefit in nurturing their commitment to making a social impact through entrepreneurship.

“Our partnership with the School for Social Entrepreneurs sits right at the heart of our business strategy to help Britain prosper and we are eager to hear the new ideas to inspire social change that will come from this year’s recruits.”

Alastair Wilson, CEO of the School for Social Entrepreneurs, added: “Working in partnership with Lloyds Bank has enabled us to support hundreds of the most inspiring social enterprises in the UK.

“This year we’re thrilled to be supporting even more individuals with a desire to impact social change and look forward to seeing how their enterprises develop and grow.”