Consultancy firm PWC Malta has launched a €1 million start up fund aimed at helping budding entrepreneurs.

The company will be dedicating €1 million of pro bono services over a year towards new businesses.

These services will include advice on setting up business plans as well as advice on IT, taxes and employee sharing possibilities.

Kevin Valenzia, from PWC Malta, said that the company employed some 500 people and it would now be making their experience accessible to innovative and creative entrepreneurs who may need initial support to make their dream come true. This, he said, will lead to having a more innovative economy.

He added that the start up fund was being launched in collaboration with Times of Malta that will be promoting the initiative through its media as well as the University of Malta that serves as an incubator to ideas and creativity.

Allied Group managing director Adrian Hillman said that many would find the link between the news organisation and entrepreneurship to be “odd”. However, he said, this lay perfectly within the company’s mission to promote innovation for the benefit of society.

University Rector Juanito Camilleri spoke about the recently launched Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation centre that aims to put knowledge-intensive entrepreneurship at the top of the University of Malta’s outreach agenda.

He called on Government to support such initiatives through funding and tax incentives among other things.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who was present for the event, said Government was committed towards supporting budding businesses and was exploring various options.

As various European countries battled with youth unemployment, not enough attention was given to the option of self-employment as a solution to the problem, he said.

More information about the fund can be obtained from http://www.pwc.com/mt/onemillioneurofund