Thursday 18 May 2023
The Committee for Economic Development is seeking views from industry and stakeholders on a proposed Guernsey Enterprise Investment Scheme (GEIS).
The scheme aims to encourage angel investment into high growth, early-stage businesses in Guernsey by providing an investment-linked payment to individuals investing into eligible start-ups and developing businesses.
Guernsey based investors would be able to apply for a payment of up to 30% of their investment value. Through the provision of investor incentives, GEIS aims to encourage an estimated £2.2m of investment into Guernsey businesses during the trial, which is proposed to launch this political term.
This consultation will be used to evaluate investor and business interest in GEIS, the method of operation and eligibility requirements. The launch of the GEIS scheme will be considered following analysis of consultation responses and depend on the resolutions from the forthcoming States of Guernsey Government Work Plan prioritisation debate.
Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, Economic Development's Lead for Digital, Skills and Enterprise said,
"Early-stage businesses are an engine for innovation and economic growth. Raising funding is critical and is often protracted and challenging. GEIS will make it more attractive to invest into local qualifying businesses. This innovative scheme will build on Guernsey's strength as a global centre of excellence for international investment and support our own early-stage business ecosystem."
The scheme takes inspiration from the successful Enterprise and Seed Enterprise Investment Schemes (EIS and SEIS) provided in the UK.
The consultation invites comments and feedback from individuals, investors, businesses, and organisations. The deadline for comments is 16th June 2023. For further information about GEIS and information on how to take part please see: https://gov.gg/geis_consultation
