Capital photography start-up gets funding boost

film and photography startup has become the latest venture to benefit from a scheme designed to get businesses off the ground as it hits a £10 million funding milestone.

Foundedby19-year-oldomar Etherington-brown, OJE Studios offers a range of services including film and music productionand photography, with a focus on promoting commua nity engagement. After securing a loan from the british business bank throughgc business Finance, the fledgling firm is expanding its team to five employees, as well as moving the current music production studio from Dundee to Edinburgh.

The funding is the second time Etherington-brown has received support from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme, which has now delivered a£10m boost to Edinburgh entrepreneurs.

Just under 900 start-ups in the Scottish capital have been supported since the programme’s inception in 2012.

Etherington-brown said: “The business has gone from strength to strength in the last year,andihavenowleftmyfulltimejobasasoftwareengineer to focus on OJE Studios and grow the team. With a talented crew of photographers, videographer and editors we have the skills to create amazing content that inspires people through promotional photography, short films and music videos. We want to showcase the smaller and lesser-known partsofedinburgh.”

Among the projects supported by the studio are the Spit It Out Festival, which provides workshops, talks and live performances to bring together people from marginalised communities who have experienced discrimination because of mental ill health, and Movement, a new club night to support local up-and-coming talent.