A £25m fund has been set up for businesses across the West to help develop jobs by matching public and private cash.
The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) will distribute the money which comes from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.
Businesses can apply for grants of between £10,000 and £1m to help in four areas – research and development, training, capital investment and recruitment of disabled or disadvantaged workers. It can also be used to support young, innovative firms and small businesses newly created by female entrepreneurs.
LEP chair Colin Skellett said the new fund marked an important landmark in giving removing the barriers to local businesses in accessing financial investment and support.
“One of our original aims was to encourage economic growth by removing obstacles. Often it is a problem accessing finance which stops businesses developing and creating new jobs. This Growth Fund will go some way to helping deal with that issue and I hope many businesses come forward to make use of it,” he said.
North Somerset Council deputy chairman and leader Nigel Ashton also urged businesses to make the most of the opportunity.
“We want to see job growth not only in a wide variety of sectors but also right across the West of England,” he said. “I have high hopes that there will be a big take up and also that existence of the grant leads to further investment which will have a real impact on economic development.”
Businesses have until the end of July to submit their formal applications but they can simply express an interest during May to learn more about the fund before deciding whether to apply.
Full details of the Fund, including how to apply can be found at www.goingforgrowth.biz
