A growing number of businesses in the East Midlands are benefitting from tailored business support, thanks to the Accelerator project. Evaluation of the project’s performance at its halfway point has identified over 1,100 businesses that have been engaged and are working with a business adviser to boost their growth.
The project, which is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), was established in the autumn and is being delivered by East Midlands Chamber in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicester.
Alongside one-to-one support from a business adviser, the project has so far also delivered the following:
- 102 growth vouchers up to the value of £2,000 to help businesses access tailored, 1-2-1 consultancy support to introduce digital technology and green measures.
- 300 workshops and webinars successfully attracting over 7,000 delegates.
- 50 energy saving and improvement audit approvals to help businesses create an action plan to save money.
Businesses signing up to the project have also been introduced to the wealth of additional support available from other regional and national sources. For innovative SMEs, this includes growth and scale-up support from Innovate UK Business Growth. Manufacturing micro and small businesses can also benefit from Made Smarter support on how to switch to advanced and automated technologies.
East Midlands Chamber Deputy Chief Executive Diane Beresford said: “From our launch events onwards, we’ve listened to what businesses want in terms of what, where, when and how they would like to access Accelerator support. We’ve set up a new Leicestershire Manufacturing Network, the first forum meeting for which will be held on 5th July at Loughborough University, as well as a new Gedling Business Support Network.
“Chamber and D2N2 Growth Hub support is undoubtedly at its best when businesses are given a helping hand to apply for support from other sources, including grant funding and pitching for investor support. Trans-Sport.tv in Bassetlaw is one example of an Accelerator business that has been referred to the Made Smarter programme and has accessed road mapping, grant funding and leadership support as a result.
“The Accelerator project has some challenging targets including the creation and safeguarding of jobs, creating new enterprises, accessing new technologies or processes and engagement in knowledge transfer activity. We’re certainly on the right trajectory to achieve that and for any business yet to sign up, I would urge them to seize the opportunity before the project ends in March of next year.”