Britain launched a government-supported loan scheme on Monday to support young people looking looking to start a business.

The StartUp Loan scheme has a kitty of 82 million pounds (128 billion U.S. dollars) for 18 to 24-year-olds. British Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the initiative would lead to the creation of 30,000 new start-ups and boost economic growth.

Cameron said he wanted young people to have the confidence and support to turn "that spark of an idea into the next global brand."

Young people can apply for a loan of about 2,500 pounds from the fund. The loans must be repaid within five years, and interest will be charged at the level of the retail prices index plus 3 percent.

A newly-published enterprise review on Monday said Britain would have 900,000 more businesses if it had the same rate of entrepreneurship as the U.S.

"Small businesses are the engine room of our economy and critical to the future economic growth," Lord Young of Graffham, founder of Start-up Loans, said.

He added the loans were designed to help young people create a business plan and get a loan to get them started.

"You will get continuing support from your mentor, and your future will be in your own hands," Lord Young said.