Enterprising West of England Proves Great Success in First Quarter

Since launching in January of this year, the Enterprising West of England programme has worked with over 100 businesses and entrepreneurs across the West of England region to help them start, improve and grow.

The six programme partners; Business West, The Prince's Trust, YTKO Group, Bristol City Council, Bath and North-East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council have been delivering a range of support services.

The services available include; workshops, one-to-one analysis of business needs, one-to-one business advice and grant funding for coaching services. There is also a significant focus on equality and diversity in the programme, with a key objective to provide equality of access to business support services, with specific activities targeted towards young people (18-30 years old), disadvantaged areas and ethnic minorities.

One of the services, delivered by Business West, is scale up coaching grants, where businesses can apply for grant funding to help cover the cost of working with a business coach.

Nick James, Finance Manager at Lorfords Antiques received a £1,200 scale up coaching grant:

“Our scale up coaching grant allowed us to continue working with an industry leading business coach. This has enabled the continuing growth of the business - we’ve just recruited 4 new members of staff and aim to take on more soon! It is refreshing to know that there is support available for local businesses and we are extremely grateful to the team at Enterprising West of England!”

Cassie Yates, Programme Manager, Enterprising West of England, said:

“It is fantastic to see how much engagement the programme has had so far. Local businesses and individuals are really starting to benefit from the support provided by our partners and it’s clear to see there is a real demand for these services in the West of England.”

The Enterprising West of England programme has been commissioned by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) aimed at supporting SMEs to support business growth.

The programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Business West, The Prince's Trust, YTKO Group, Bristol City Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council.

For more information or to apply to receive support, visit www.businesswest.co.uk/ewoe