Free Open University business courses available

Learn with Start Up Loans: announcing a new partnership designed to help businesses get off the ground and stay there

The government-backed Start Up Loans scheme has partnered with world-renowned distance-learning provider The Open University to give its customers – and other small business owners across the UK – the opportunity to take free Open University business learning courses.

At a moment of significant upheaval for the UK’s start-ups, the partnership aims to help businesses get off the ground by giving them the confidence and training they need to take their ideas to the next level.

The online courses can be accessed easily by visiting the Start Up Loans website and have been designed to suit all needs and paces of learning, from introductory to intermediate to advanced. Depending on the level of study, the courses take six, 10 or 30 hours to complete and are grouped into several key areas:

·         Entrepreneurship

·         Career and leadership

·         Finance and accounting

·         Marketing and commercial awareness

·         Project management

·         Specialised learning


Free downloadable guides to starting a business

As well as the partnership and its pre-loan support and mentoring package, Start Up Loans has published a series of guides on important areas of business including social media, marketing and SEO. The guides, which can be downloaded free of charge from the Start Up Loans website, are designed to ensure business owners of all stripes have the resources they need to build and grow a successful business. 

Download the guides