CARMARTHENSHIRE County Council is set to invest around £4m in local businesses.

The council is launching a variety of new grants and loans aimed at supporting new and existing businesses, aimed at stimulating economic growth throughout the county.

The economic development team is inviting businesses and entrepreneurs, both established and new, to find out whether they are eligible for financial support.

A total of £1m is being made available under the Carmarthenshire Rural Enterprise Fund aimed at stimulating growth in the rural economy, such as the Newcastle Emlyn area.

A further £1.5m is being made available in the Carmarthenshire Transformational Commercial Property Development Fund to stimulate the supply of high quality business premises.

Town centre grants totalling £895,000 are available, with £500,000 being offered for new business start-ups and existing businesses looking to expand, with grants of up to £10,000 on offer.

Priority will be given to businesses that create and safeguard jobs.

Cllr Emlyn Dole, leader of the council and executive board member for regeneration, said: “This is a significant investment that we hope will have long-term benefits for Carmarthenshire, not only for the businesses that could be eligible for support but because of the future jobs they will create.”

Information and eligibility criteria about the grants is available at carmarthenshire.gov.wales/business