New and established businesses and entrepreneurs to benefit from two new council-funded support programmes.
Published: Tuesday, 10th September 2024
Cherwell District Council is working with Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) to provide local entrepreneurs, ambitious start-ups, business leaders and organisations with the opportunity to grow their business further with the launch of two, new business support programmes.
Set to launch this autumn, OxLEP Business will run the Cherwell Business Spark and the Cherwell Business Accelerator programmes. These programmes have been funded by the council's UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
The Cherwell Business Spark strand will help more people to start their own successful business, or create a profitable ‘extra income stream’, with support covering key areas including business fundamentals, understanding customers, marketing and sales, financial planning and developing a first-year action plan.
The Cherwell Business Accelerator will back SMEs in the area with big potential to grow and create further jobs.
The support for the Accelerator programme will be built around conducting a strategic business review to create a support delivery plan and a three-year business growth action plan, as well as providing a leadership development programme for senior managers in the business, plus one-to-one support on key areas such as productivity and innovation.
Councillor Lesley McLean, Deputy Leader of Cherwell District Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources said: “New and growing businesses play a pivotal role in north Oxfordshire’s vibrant and resilient economy. We recognise their innovation, talent and new ideas and with these new programmes we are taking a leadership role in helping them get off the ground and expand.
“The Cherwell Business Spark and Cherwell Business Accelerator programmes are a signal that north Oxfordshire is a great place to do business and an example of how our partnership with OxLEP will get a great return on the investment of UKSPF money.
“If your business is ready to grow, we warmly invite you to find out more and take advantage of these game-changing opportunities.”
Helen Brind, Growth Hub Manager for OxLEP said: “This new support programme provides Cherwell-based entrepreneurs and small business leaders with a growth mindset with fantastic guidance, advice, practical skills and strategies, as well as openings into potential finance opportunities and indeed, the window to a new network of likeminded individuals, local to their organisation.
“Given our track record of supporting thousands of Oxfordshire businesses over the past decade, we are delighted to have secured the opportunity to deliver this support on behalf of Cherwell District Council and hope that we can bring some positive influence and results to this part of the county’s business community."
Interest is invited now as the programmes will run through until the end of March 2025 and support will only be available to residents and businesses in the Cherwell district.
To find out more on both the Cherwell Business Spark and Cherwell Business Accelerator programmes, head to the OxLEP Business website.