Pedal-powered boats are set to make their debut in Bermuda.

The hydro-bike plan is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Iesha Castle and Aaron Williams, whose Funworx Bermuda expects to have ten of the machines on the Island by next month.

The duo hope to offer rentals and guided tours of the waters around Bermuda by hydro-bike — bicycles attached to a pair of 10ft catamaran floats.

The business got off the ground with the help of a Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) interest-free $30,000 loan.

Ms Castle, 30, who works in international business, said: “It’s so difficult for first-time entrepreneurs like us to get a start-up loan with lending as tight as it is these days.

“If not for this interest-free loan from the Tourism Authority I’m not sure when we would have been able to get our idea off the ground.”

Social worker Mr Williams, 34, added that the venture could also help cut the unemployment rate on the Island by employing young staff.

He said: “At first I thought hydro-bikes could be a fun and affordable activity for local teenage boys, particularly in the summer.

“We still can provide that option locally, but the Tourism Authority process has helped us realise we can also hire young men as employees.”

And Mr Williams added: “In the current climate providing a job — even on a part-time basis — is probably the most beneficial thing we can do for our community.”

The entrepreneurs got the loan, which must be paid back in three installments over three years, after submitting a plan to the BTA’s Tourism Experiences investment scheme.

Tourism Experiences aims to back proposals in line with the BTA’s tourism strategy and can provide funding where start-up capital is needed.

Funworx was one of four interest-loans announced last year, with the others going to a firm offering personalised yacht charter tours, a firm selling aerial tours a Cessna aircraft and food court serving up authentic Bermudian dishes on the beach.

The BTA wants to use innovative ideas to increase the amount of time and money cruise ship passengers spend ashore and the “pop-up” nature of the hydro-bike business means equipment can be moved to different sites on the Island to meet demand.

BTA chief product and experiences development officer Pat Phillip-Fairn said: “We viewed these ideas as literally too good to pass up and we want to see them start-up quickly,”

The Bermuda Tourism Authority Act (2013) permits the organisation to issue loans, but the BTA does not have the regulatory permission to charge interest to loan recipients.

BTA CEO Bill Hanbury said: “In an opinion article last week I talked about our work to empower Bermudian entrepreneurs with the opportunity to own a piece of the local tourism economy. Aaron, Iesha and all the interest-free loan recipients exemplify the crop of entrepreneurial spirit we need now more than ever. They are critical to job creation and to our success as a destination.”

The next Tourism Experiences application process is scheduled to begin in September of this year for investment in 2016 home-grown ideas.

More information on loan applications for next year can be found at www.gotobermuda.com/bermudatourism/Forms/Tourism-Experiences-Investment/.