Member Article

North East gets funding for business mentoring

Aspiring entrepreneurs in the North East are set to benefit from an extra £1.9m of funding over the next three years. Regional development agency One NorthEast has approved the additional grant to expand work by the region’s Entrepreneurs’ Forum.

Some of the cash will be used to build on the forum’s mentoring programme which links budding entrepreneurs with support and advice from experienced business owners. The money will also be used to fund practical workshops and seminars, as well as interactive websites, podcasting and instant messaging.

Ian Williams, One NorthEast’s Director of Business and Industry, said: “Encouraging more people in the North East to consider enterprise as an option is a key part of the region’s drive to create up to 22,000 new businesses and get 70,000 more people into work by 2016. We need a real step change to make that happen. We have many successful entrepreneurs in the North East who are extremely well-placed to inspire others, and willing to give their time and energy to offer coaching and guidance to those who are just starting out. We have to make the most of that valuable resource, which is the equivalent of significant private sector investment for the region.”

The three-year funding programme will support more than 1,700 businesses and work with over 2000 people, according to One NorthEast.

Carole Beverley, Chief Executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, said: “Peer-to-peer support is the foundation of our work at the Entrepreneurs’ Forum. It’s about bringing together like-minded individuals, all practitioners and experts in their own field, to share practical experience and wisdom. “There is no better way to learn than from those who have been there and done it. After all, success, as they say, breeds success.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .