The UK government today unveiled its new £125m fund for businesses in the North East with a view to supporting the creation of 5,000 jobs.

Through a partnership between regional development agency One North East and the European Investment Bank, the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises Initiative, more catchily known as the JEREMIE Fund will provide investment to small and mid-sized firms in the region.

With the two partners contributing £62.5m each, the JEREMIE Fund will officially launch on January 22. Information about it has been seeping out gradually as our blog post last week showed, and companies can apply for loans of £20,000 to £1.25m from January 4.

There are six funds in total:

Angel Match Fund
A £7.5m fund, its focus will be small and entrepreneurial, with a view to leveraging money from the region's early-stage investment community. Most sectors qualify and investments will range from £50,000 to £150,000. 

Technology Proof of Concept Fund
A £15m fund for very early stage technology-focused firms. Companies likely to apply will come from the region's universities, centres of excellence, as well as other entrepreneurs in the space. Investments will range from £20,000 to £100,000 with the ability for follow-on fundraisings.

Growth Fund
A £20m fund set aside for more established businesses. Qualifying companies will already be generating revenues and will be looking to expand. Average investments are likely to be in the region of £180,000, with individual rounds ranging from £50,000 to £400,000.

Seed Fund
Another £20m non-sector specific fund, this one is specifically for start-up and seed capital companies. Investments will range from £50,000 to £750,000.

Technology Fund
The largest of all the funds with £25m at its disposal, this one will not be prescriptive on the stage of the company's development. As the name suggests, recipients will be in the tech space, seeking equity investments of £50,000 to £1.25m.

Growth Fund 500
A £20m fund for mature companies looking for significant cash injections of £300,000 to £1.25. It's expected that the average investment per company will amount to £570,000.

To meet the criteria, companies must be basing their project in the North East, have a viable business proposition to ensure returns are made to the fund, and meet the sector requirement based on EC restrictions.