A Manchester community interest company (CIC) that helps students break the habit of truanting has just secured investment of £220,000 - thanks to a partnership between two investors.

Venturesome, the social investment fund of the Charities Aid Foundation, and UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs, have agreed to make a joint investment totalling £220,000 in MOTIV CIC, which increases school attendance by offering children rewards, such as opportunities to meet radio stars and cinema tickets. This growth capital will allow MOTIV to expand.

UnLtd is combining £30,000 with consultancy support, while Venturesome's unsecured loan of £190,000 will help MOTIV hire more staff, growing its capacity to secure further contracts from local authorities and schools.

MOTIV first made its case for investment to Venturesome in a very public way at the Good Deals social investment conference, presented by the Office of the Third Sector and hosted by Social Enterprise, on 6 May.

MOTIV director Rose Marley told the conference the CIC had reached a ceiling and needed capital investment to grow. She was then grilled on the finances of the organisation by Venturesome CEO John Kingston, among others.

Now, four months on, Kingston said he was 'delighted to be backing an innovative and enterprising team who are making a real difference.' Kingston also highlighted the importance of the co-operation between the investors in this deal. He said the two investors brought complementary skills to the table and co-operation could generate 'real impact'.

UnLtd CEO Cliff Prior said: 'The partnership in MOTIV CIC is an exciting development in joint funding initiatives. It demonstrates the powerful partnership that can be achieved when social entrepreneurs and social investment come together.'

Marley praised the flexibility of both organisations admitting that 'MOTIV presented a challenging funding proposal'.

From www.socialenterprisemag.co.uk