Trawlerman turns entrepreneur with kayak
A FORMER trawlerman has turned entrepreneur with the launch of a kayak angling business on the Menai Strait.
David Jones once sailed the seas as a commercial fisherman, but always had a passion for fishing from kayaks.
Now he has launched Menai Kayak Angling close to the Pier gates in Menai Bridge – fulfilling a lifetime ambition to start his own business.
He organises kayak hire guided fishing trips as well as selling a host of angling equipment.
Mr Jones said he has been enthusiastic about kayak angling since being introduced to the sport several years ago.
The company was launched with the assistance of a small loan from Purple Shoots – a new Welsh charitable enterprise which offers small loans to individuals trying to start businesses who are struggling to get funding from other sources.
David, a founder of the Welsh Kayak Fishing Forum, said: “This would not have happened if it were not for Purple Shoots. Having my own business is a dream come true”.
Since Purple Shoots started at the end of 2013 it has made more than 300 small loans.
Some of these loans have been follow on loans to early borrowers, but more than 200 new businesses have been started and more than 250 people have been helped out of unemployment.
More than £670,000 has been invested through the loans and the economic impact in Wales is estimated at more than 10 times this figure.