DOZENS of North-East jobs will be safeguarded and hundreds created thanks to an £18m boost for smaller companies unveiled today.

Small and medium-sized businesses across the region will be able to apply for funding from the third phase of the North-East Investment Fund (NEIF 3), which is being launched at Seaham Hall Hotel, in County Durham.

The fund helps companies at a critical stage in their development, when investment from financial institutions can be difficult to obtain.

Over the next three years, NEIF 3 aims to help 330 North-East firms, create 1,715 jobs and protect 858 jobs.

The fund, which can give loans or investment of up to £250,000, is open to companies with less than 250 staff, which have a turnover of up to £20m.

The scheme is a public and private-sector partnership funded by development agency One NorthEast, European funding and Barclays Bank.

Hugh Morgan-Williams is chairman of the group set up by One NorthEast to oversee the fund.

He said: "This fund will provide an important mechanism to small and medium-sized companies to raise finances that could be impossible to raise elsewhere.

"It is specifically aimed at improving business start-up and growth rates in the North-East by funding a gap identified within the business plans of applicants.

"The money will go directly into the business where it is needed most, and the application process has been kept as simple as possible to encourage maximum take-up."

NEIF funding of £9.1m, invested between 2000 and 2002, has created 959 jobs and helped 188 companies.

Margaret Fay, the chairwoman of One NorthEast, said: "NEIF 3 is the latest in a series of important funding streams put in place by One NorthEast and its partners to help smaller companies bridge critical funding gaps."

To apply for help from the scheme, call 0191-442 4304 or (01642) 246345.