LCR 4.0 set to generate £31m GVA and 955 jobs over next three years

LCR 4.0, a part ERDF funded business support programme for the manufacturing sector, has created 80 new jobs and added £2.6m GVA to date. These figures were revealed at its Technology Showcase event which took place at Sci-Tech Daresbury last week. 

It is now predicted that LCR 4.0 enabled SMEs will go on to add an additional 955 jobs and £31.1m GVA to the local economy in the next three years.

Working collaboratively with local businesses, the project has given almost 300 SMEs the tools and resources to explore the opportunities and challenges of Industry 4.0 technologies, such as big data, systems integration, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AR) and 3D printing. In using this advanced technology, SMEs can increase productivity, reduce costs and pioneer first-of-its-kind innovations.

The Technology Showcase event was a celebration of the success and impact of the LCR 4.0 programme, as well as a platform to highlight the additional support and funding available to SMEs across the North West.

Event attendees were welcomed by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram as he praised LCR 4.0, its partners and the SMEs it works with for their contribution in positioning Liverpool City Region as a global leader in advanced manufacturing.

“There is a truly entrepreneurial spirit running through Liverpool City Region,” Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said. “Because of this, the region can become, and in my opinion is becoming, a manufacturing global hotspot. Programmes like LCR 4.0 are making that possible, establishing innovative and dynamic manufacturing communities across the six boroughs.”

Several LCR 4.0 enabled SMEs took to the stage to give real life examples of advanced manufacturing in situ and there were several thought leadership talks from businesses including CNC Robotics which spoke about the ethics of robotics.

A recent survey by LCR 4.0 found that 82 per cent of SMEs say the programme changed their understanding of Industry 4.0, while over two thirds of businesses said it helped them to bring a product to market quicker. Innovative capacity was also enhanced in 82 per cent of respondents and three quarters were encouraged to be more ambitious as a result of the project.

Commenting on the survey results, Dr Andy Levers, technical director at the Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) and technical lead for LCR 4.0, said: “These figures are real testament to the impact of the LCR 4.0 programme to date and that, if a business starts to operate in a more innovative way, they will generate better results quicker.”

SMEs are now being encouraged to get involved with Made Smarter UK – a new £20 million initiative set to engage with 3,000 manufacturers across the North West to embed advanced digital technology across the sector. With this new programme, it is thought the region’s manufacturing sector could generate a 25% increase in productivity and add £115m to the North West economy. 

“We’re well on our way to fulfil our potential as a hub of advanced manufacturing,” Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram continued. “What we need now is to collaborate and embrace new techniques and processes which will drive growth. The £20m Made Smarter initiative will follow in LCR 4.0’s footsteps and offer hundreds of SME manufacturers the chance to do just that, backed by a programme of guidance, advice and grants.”

The LCR 4.0 project, which is due to come to close later this year, has been delivered by partners University of Liverpool’s VEC, Liverpool John Moores University, Sensor City, STFC Hartree Centre and the Liverpool City Region LEP.

In 2018, the LCR 4.0 programme was hailed as an ‘exemplar project’ in the Made Smarter report and featured in the Top 100 European Digital Champions list by the Financial Times.

Event SME case studies:

- Quanovo: http://lcr4.uk/case-studies/quanovo/
- Glow New Media: http://lcr4.uk/case-studies/glow-new-media/
- CNC Robotics: http://lcr4.uk/cnc-robotics-case-study/
- Pulse Systems: http://lcr4.uk/case-studies/4027/
- EV Range: http://lcr4.uk/case-studies/ev-range-extender-ltd/

For more information or interview opportunities, please contact:
Amy Cantrill at Active Profile on 0151 556 7050 or email amy.cantrill@activeprofile.co.uk

In the Media: Enterprise Hub addresses enterprise gender gap across Liverpool city region

In its first phase The Liverpool City Region Enterprise Hub helped more than 6,000 would-be entrepreneurs, 60% of them women, and is now looking to step up that effort. Tony McDonough reports for LBN

Sara Burgess, left, and Joanne McCormick, founders of ‘child-friendly’ Liverpool hair salon, Ava & Harrison

Investing in more women-led businesses could boost the UK economy by £250bn, a report claims, and Liverpool city region’s support programme for fledgling entrepreneurs is doing its bit to the address the enterprise gender gap.

Published in March, The Rose Report revealed that just 6% of UK women run their own businesses, compared with 15% in Canada, almost 11% in the US and more than 9% in Australia and the Netherlands.

Since launching the Enterprise Hub in Dec 2015, a single-door access point to advise and support people who had started, or had ambitions to start, their own business, The Women's Organisation have supported women led businesses to access more than £1.7m in business finance. 

One, now thriving, business to benefit from that assistance was Sara Burgess and Joanne McCormick, founders of ‘child-friendly’ Liverpool hair salon, Ava & Harrison who benefitted from £30,000 of start-up loans.  Celebrating their first birthday Joanne McCormick says they "couldn't have done it" without the support from Enterprise Hub and their business adviser. 

Enterprise Hub is part funded by European Regional Development Fund.

For the full article on LBN click here.

Would you like to be a better leader and grow your business?

Do you want to develop leadership skills for your business? University of Liverpool are looking for individuals to take part in their GROWTH CATALYST programme to improve their skills & confidence.

The University of Liverpool has secured funding to deliver an Innovative business growth programme in the Liverpool City Region called Growth Catalyst.

Growth Catalyst is a six month leadership development programme, which includes business coaching, a series of masterclass talks, skills workshops, Action Learning and a business exchange visit, all underpinned by a network of likeminded individuals, keen to grow their businesses in an atmosphere of mutual support and trust.

Developed by experts in the field of leadership and management, Growth Catalyst employs an integrated delivery model, aimed at improving the performance of the business and the personal development and confidence of the owner/manager.

Elements include:

• 2 Day Leadership Retreat - Improve your leadership skills and set business development goals.
• 6 Hours of Business Coaching  - Help define your growth strategy 
• Action Learning - Progress ideas for new products and services through a Non-executive board of likeminded peers.
• A Series of 7 Master Classes with leading experts in marketing, leadership, strategy and growth.
• A Business Exchange - Take part in exchange visits to another business on the programme.

Benefits of the programme include:

• Proven improvements in the productivity and profitability of the business.
• Tools and Techniques to help you work ON the business rather than IN it.
• Help with the development of new products and services.
• Help to plan and execute a strategy for growth.
• A network of likeminded individuals that can help you grow your business.
• Improved leadership abilities and greater confidence.

For more information on how you can apply for a place on this EU funded programme, starting on the 9th May 2019. please contact Richard Holloway:

Or Visit the website: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/management/for-business/growth-catalyst/about/

Sarah is Helping Local Businesses to Transform their Marketing Strategy through SLMC Consulting

Sefton’s Sarah McCartney saw opportunity when faced with redundancy and decided to launch her own business. 

Having spent 22 years in the building plastics industry in senior positions in customer service, key account management, and marketing, Sarah had a wealth of experience to lend to her new venture.

But how did Sarah go from brimming with ideas to getting started?  

Sarah told us “The first thing I did was contact Invest Sefton [Local Growth Hub Broker for the borough] to ask what I needed to do, and they suggested I start networking and referred me to the Enterprise Hub to get the support of a business advisor to guide me though the process”. Support from Enterprise Hub partners The Women’s Organisation set the ball rolling for SLMC Consulting – a marketing consultancy specialising in supporting SME’s and Start-ups overwhelmed by the idea of marketing or buzzing with ideas, but not sure how to put them into practice.

Sarah received one to one business advice and also attended courses around business planning understanding tax and national insurance, and events around the keys to business start up with The Women’s Organisation and told us about the support

“The support I received from the Enterprise Hub was brilliant, the best thing I could have done to help start me off.  Huda was my advisor and I found the meetings we had every couple of weeks amazing.”

SLMC Consulting has continued to cultivate success in the five months that the business has been running, and has found networking with other businesses through the programme has helped her to build an initial customer base that has led to the business bringing her an income sooner than she had anticipated.

Reflecting on the steep learning curve of going into business, Sarah offered some insight into her key lessons she has learned along the way.

“It is important to get advice but ensure that you take it and make it your own. Not everything people suggest is always right for you and your business.  Getting out on the networking circuit has been a highlight which I had not anticipated but it has lead me to meet some very supportive people that have become part of my ‘personal board’ of either people I will ask advice of, or people if feel I can refer my clients to, to provide services that I don’t including print, design, social media, sales training etc.”

Already finding “work life balance” to be one of the key benefits of going self-employed, Sarah is feeling positive about the future and is currently completing coaching qualifications to be able to add an additional dimension to her consultancy services.

Like Sarah over 5000 residents from the Liverpool City Region have now been supported to assess their business ideas and build enterprise skills, with over 850 now launching their new enterprise.

When asked what she would advise another person facing a career crossroads and debating taking the leap into business Sarah said “I would tell them to get involved with a business advisor from the Enterprise hub first.  I would then get them to look at what they really want to achieve and to ensure that it must be something they are passionate about to keep them committed.    Things take a lot longer than you realise so work to a plan and make sure you reflect on the progress you are making regularly to keep you motivated.”

To find out more about SLMC Consulting you can visit Sarah’s website www.slmc-consulting.com drop a line to sarah@slmc-consulting.com or connect on twitter @SLMCConsulting.

If like Sarah you have expertise you think you could transfer to your own business, then contact Enterprise Hub to access free impartial advice.

Enterprise Hub is part funded by European Regional Development Fund and offers a one door access point for any Liverpool City Region resident who is looking for business support to access free expert help.

Women Gathered to Find Out How to 'Make Childcare Your Business'

On Thursday 1st December we held another brilliant session from our 'Make it Your Business' series, this time based on childcare – from independent childminder to nursery care. It was a perfect morning for anyone interested in childcare, whether considering a career change or currently studying 'Early Years’. As is our custom, refreshments started the day with pastry delicacies to get us motivated for the morning.  

Our guest speakers Saeeda & Sarah with Sabah from The WO

The event began with a brief introduction from Jo Austin, marketing and engagement coordinator, about The Women’s Organisation, the free services we provide to start-ups through the Enterprise Hub programme (part funded by European Regional Development Fund) and the support you can expect from us.

We were very lucky to have hosted Saeeda Aslam from 'Happy Children Nursery' and Sarah Higginson from ‘Liverpool City Council’, both experts in the field. First up Saeeda gave a brief introduction to the unique nursery she helped set up in L15. She shared her experiences, highlighting the challenges including managing turnover of staff and rewards of setting up a childcare business. Saeeda told us that childcare is a demanding yet a rewarding field as long as you are truly passionate.

Following this Sarah educated our attendees on the qualifications required and the legal aspects of setting up a childcare business. She also offered top tips of how to succeed in obtaining a registration from OFSTED. Reflecting on her own experience of running a nursery and then retraining in business to offer advice, Sarah advised that a good mix of knowing what you are doing in terms of childcare and building your business skills is a good mix if you are looking to go self-employed in this field.

Along with this, we held a question and answer session. This was a great opportunity for attendees to ask questions from our experts and find out a bit more. Thank you very much to both, our attendees really valued the tips you gave them!

After a quick break to grab another pastry, Sabah Shams, from the engagement team delivered the rest of the session. This included: a quick tour of the qualifications required to set up a business may that be childminding or nursery or after school club. Further, covering the legislation, insurance cover – basically everything you need to know! The most important message Sabah gave to our attendees was the significance of business planning and market research – as these really do determine the success of your business.

We had fantastic feedback and attendees thoroughly enjoyed the day. Below are some of the fabulous feedback we received:  

·        “Question answer sessions were really beneficial, really enjoyed the relaxed and informal session which was delivered in a professional friendly way. I have learnt really useful tips.”

·        “A really helpful session, coming away with more confidence and insight to setting up my own business.”

·        “So happy I attended this session today, made me think about lots of aspects of running a business.”

Do not worry if you missed out, we will be holding many other events next year – so be sure to keep an eye out!

An in the meantime if you would like to speak to one of our business advisers to look closely at your business idea on a one to one basis then contact The Women’s Organisation on 0151 706 8111 or drop a line to hello@thewo.org.uk

Enterprise Hub Start-up Conference Came to Sefton with 3 Inspirational Entrerpreneurs in Tow

Jo & Sabah from The Women's Organisation

Last week we took our FREE 'Business Start-up Conference' to Sefton. This event is offered as part of the Enterprise Hub project, a European funded programme offering expert advice and support to start in business through a consortium of delivery partners including: The Women’s Organisation, SAFE Regeneration, St Helens Chamber, Granby Toxteth Development Trust, Everton Development Trust, Alt Valley Community Trust, The Prince's Trust, Merseyside Expanding Horizons and Franchising Works.

The conference took place on Thursday 20th October at the new fantastic conference centre within the Hugh Baird campus, L20 Hub.  A huge thanks to InvestSefton who assisted us in organising a fabulous morning, and arranged the delicious refreshments served- warm crispy pastries accompanied by hot tea and coffee, perfect on a cold day!

InvestSefton is an enterprise, business support and inward investment service of Sefton Council. This aims to make Sefton an attractive and easy place for new and old business to thrive. Kris Swift and Julie Swarbrick from Invest Sefton were on hand at the event to encourage budding entrepreneurs to keep in touch with their team throughout their business journey to receive help and advice.

The morning was hosted by Jo Austin from Enterprise Hub Partner The Women’s Organisation who gave all attendees a quick introduction into Enterprise Hub and how it is a great time to access free support to get started.

Cheryl Grogan was inspirational

Our first inspirational speaker of the morning was Cheryl Grogan who has recently set up a soft play centre, AJ’s Playdays, which is due to open on Stanley Road in Bootle, later this month. Cheryl spoke about choosing self-employment to enable her to create a job for herself that fits around her children. Cheryl also emphasised that ‘market research’ was very important in the process of setting up and that she literally wouldn’t have got to the point of launch if she hadn’t tapped into advice from Yan Miao, business advisor at The Women’s Organisation.  She also said not to listen to those close to you who might worry about self-employment not being a steady income as they will soon be positive when they realise what you have achieved.

Jack & Julie offered real insight

Next, Jack Foster from Crosby Coffee was interviewed by Business Growth Adviser from Invest Sefton Julie Swarbrick, who had helped him to get his business off the ground and growing.  Jack started roasting coffee at home in a popcorn machine as a hobby, but soon found friends were asking him for his coffee and he built a demand testing the market by taking his product to a local farmers market in Sefton.  He received advice and support to build on his idea and now has a unit in Sefton with staff, and is getting help from Sefton@Work – partners of InvestSefton, to recruit more staff through a scheme they have that helps to fund initial cost of wages. Jack also highlighted the importance of market research, and advised that social media is one of the best platforms to promote business.

Kevin Murphy's practical tips were great

Our third impressive entrepreneur was Kevin Murphy from Rentaspace who spoke about how he built his storage empire from 2005 to a nationwide venture turning over £5mil+. He then sold it and started again in 2015 with Rentaspace which is a flexible storage facility on Dunningsbridge Road in Sefton.  Kevin is keen to support other entrepreneurs so has set up a hot desk space within his facility that he welcomes small businesses to use free if they want somewhere to hold meetings or just have desk space for a while. Kevin’s advice is that you only get out what you are prepared to put in and that it is essential to build a network around you to take away the loneliness of self-employment.

Our key event partners were Startup Direct, an organisation that provides government-backed funding, mentoring and support to small businesses as part of the UK governments Start Up Loans Scheme. Ali McGrath from The Women’s Organisation spoke on behalf of Startup Direct stepping through the benefits of the scheme and offering advice about getting yourself investment ready.

The programme also included activities which explored the 'Pros and Cons of Self Employment' and understanding why businesses fail so we can avoid making mistakes early on. This was highly enjoyed by attendees and gave them an insight into self employment.

Below are some comments received as part of the feedback:

“I have found this session really inspiring and don’t feel as scared of making the jump into working for myself.”

“I think it’s amazing the amount of help Invest Sefton and Enterprise Hub have to offer, I feel my knowledge and conference has grown just rom attending this workshop today.”

“Absolutely fantastic, didn’t know it existed will attend further workshops.”

“Really helped with my confidence in moving forward with my business.”

“Highly recommended the course for anyone with an idea.”

“Positive and good introduction for individual considering self-employment.”

It was great to see representatives from the Local Growth Hub also supporting the event and helping to raise awareness that there is support for every business no matter what stage via localgrowthhub.com. 

It was a busy morning but we are glad that it benefitted so many attendees. Don’t worry if you missed out because we are hoping to deliver similar sessions across the boroughs within Merseyside, so keep an eye on @MerseyEntHub on twitter and contact our team on 0151 706 8113 to find out how to join the programme. 

Excelerate Labs Join the Northern Enterprise Conference 2016

Janine Hyland & Ameena Ahmed from Excelerate Labs

Our 'Exelerate Labs' team (the Greater Manchester business growth support project of The Women’s Organisation) were thrilled to support the Northern Enterprise 2016 Conference last week, held at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester.

The event, organised by Social Enterprise Network, aimed to shape and drive the devolution agenda in the north, and provide enterprising and socially minded businesses with an opportunity to explore partnerships, and collaborative opportunities that create positive social impact. A number of influential speakers joined the event including Rt Hon Hazel Blears, Philip Blond (Managing Director of Respublica), RT Hon Rob Wilson (MP Minister for Civil Society) ,Cliff Prior (CEO Big Society Capital), and Chris Murray (CEO Core Cities).

The fabulous awards dinner concluded the conference

During the conference a variety of master classes took place, showcasing innovation and best practice in the social sector.  Exelerate Labs own Enterprise Enablers Ameena Ahmed and Janine Hyland delivered a master class on ‘Top tips for growing your business’. This was attended by 10 local social organisations and SME businesses, who had opportunity to work interactively with our facilitators, taking lots of useful hints and tips to scale their work.

Ameena Ahmed present 'Female Entrepreneur' Award

The conference culminated with the Northern Enterprise 2016 Awards, which recognise the achievements of individuals and businesses that are shining beacons of social value best practice. The Women’s Organisation sponsored the ' Female entrepreneur of the year award’ which had a number of brilliant nominees put forward. On the night the worthy winner was Gina Jones, CEO of ‘Always Active’ , an organisation set up to support dementia sufferers. Gina has been a recipient of The Women’s Organisation's support in previous years and has set up a diverse range of businesses spanning from golfing to children’s entertainment. Excelerate Labs Business Growth Adviser Ameena Ahmed presented the award on behalf of The Women’s Organisation.

Ameena with Female Entrepreneur winner Gina Jones

During the conference a number of connections were made between Exelerate Labs and infrastructure bodies such as social investment companies like Big Society Capital and support groups such as GMCVO, so it was a great networking opportunity.

Excelerate Labs is a new business growth programme aimed at businesses in Greater Manchester and part funded by European Regional Development Fund. If you are working in a B2B sector in the Greater Manchester area and are looking for support to grow your business, the expert Excelerate Labs team may be able to help you FREE! Drop a line to exceleratelabs@thewo.org.uk to find out more. 

Social Media Wiz Ann is Hoping her Business Success Will Make her the 'Talk of Manchester'

 Manchester’s Ann Davies, founder of social media training and consultancy business Bizwizuk, is feeling “Very humble, proud and excited!” upon discovering she has been shortlisted for an award.

Having built a successful business for someone else for 10 years Ann Davies decided it was time to do something for herself and launched ‘Bizwizuk’ in October 2011.  Starting from scratch was a challenge Ann was ready to face head on and has since built up a client base of over 100 businesses  ranging from SME’s to banks and hotel chains, linking with an additional social media manager allowing her to focus on the consultancy side of the business.

Feeling ready to expand Bizwizuk this year Ann approached The Women’s Organisation upon hearing that they could offer free support to women in Greater Manchester with ambition for business growth.

Ann said “I have found the support incredible. My mentor has helped me to understand and create a clear vision for the growth of my business.”

Ann who also runs The Working Mothers networking group in Manchester while juggling her life as a working mum of two teenage daughters was excited to learn that her hard work had been recognised being shortlisted for ‘Best Social Media Company’ at the ‘Talk of Manchester’ awards.

Showing why she deserves to win Ann told us her top 3 tips for businesses thinking about using social media are:

1 – Choose your platforms carefully; think about where your business sits in the social media space.

2 – Set the right tone, your on-line voice should reflect the business voice that your clients hear when face to face. 

3 - Keep track of your impact.  Once your social media strategy is up and running you will want to know what impact it is having, which involves measuring what is working and what isn’t - of course changing what isn’t working

If you appreciate Ann’s tips and have enjoyed reading a bit about her journey then she would greatly appreciate your votes for best social media company. 

Voting for Talk of Manchester Awards closes Friday 31^st October at 5pm so click here to vote for Ann:

http://www.thetalkofmanchester.co.uk/event-registration/?ee=119

Now celebrating her 3^rd business birthday Ann’s advice to other women who are trying to grow their own business is “If you feel passionately about your products or services and genuinely enjoy what you do then don’t let anyone put you off”.

To find out more about the services Ann and BizWizuk offer to support businesses to succeed on social media visit www.bizwizuk.co.uk and follow @bizwizuk on twitter.

   

If like Ann you are a woman who has built a successful business in Greater Manchester which you are now ready to expand, contact The Women’s Organisation to find out how the Venture Accelerator programme can offer you FREE advice to build a strategy for growth.  Email project manager Mike on MikeMarsden@thewo.org.uk and follow @TheWomenOrgManc on twitter. 

Venture Accelerator: Developing Business Growth with Manchester Women in Business

Women business owners in Greater Manchester can benefit from FREE support to take their business to the next level with The Women’s Organisation.  The Women’s Organisation who have been working in Merseyside since 1996 offering enterprise support to women, are pleased to announce the launch of their Venture Accelerator business growth programme in Greater Manchester.

Through Venture Accelerator women can be linked with a specialist business growth adviser who will offer tailored support to take their business to the next level.

Venture Accelerator Programme Manager Mike Marsden said “The first step to growing your business is committing to it. We encourage women to consider putting time aside and work ON their business not IN their business.  Taking that moment to reflect, especially with the support of an independent adviser, can help you focus on the possibilities.  Running a business day to day there are 101 things to keep us busy and can take our focus away from ever gearing up to the next level.  Developing a plan for growth means looking at what you are doing well that you can build on, and exploring possible new markets.”

Some of the women who have already benefited from the advice of Mike and his team have tweeted:

“Another informative meeting today with @TheWomenOrgManc” Mrs Frisbees All Naturals

“Anyone in the Manchester area has to be in touch with @TheWomenOrgManc for free business growth support. It’s absolutely brilliant!” Excalibur Inflatables

Mike says “There is a misconception that there is no funding for growth now.  All we hear about is the double dip recession, doom and gloom.  The good news is that there is help and finance available for business growth if you know where to look and have a solid plan.  It is a fantastic privilege to open that door for local women and see them get excited about where their business ambitions can take them.”

The Women’s Organisation’s Venture Accelerator programme of tailored support is open to:

• ·        Women-led businesses registered in Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Wigan, Tameside and Stockport
• ·        Businesses looking to expand through taking on new staff or significantly increasing turnover through accessing new markets

Examples of ways The Women’s Organisation can offer support to businesses include:

• Growth Strategy - developing a clear growth strategy for a business aligned to their needs

• Access to markets – research, business planning, pitch preparation

• Strategic marketing – Sales and marketing development, social media/E-commerce

• Developing effective leadership – building leadership potential, tightening human resources and talent development

• Financial Management - raising finance, bid preparation, procurement

• Linking to Networks & Developing Strategic Partnerships – Finding people or talent through networking opportunities locally and globally, referrals to professional partners

• Corporate Social Responsibility

The Venture Accelerator Programme runs to June 2015 and is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.  If you are a woman-led business based in the Greater Manchester area and you would like free advice to build your staff team or grow your turnover, contact programme manager MikeMarsden@thewo.org.uk to find out more about the help The Women’s Organisation can offer and follow @TheWomenOrgManc on twitter. 

 

Venture Accelerator Supports Merseyside Businesses to Grow

The Women's Organisation are delighted to be supporting local women led businesses to expand, offering free support via the Venture Accelerator Programme. 

The Venture Accelerator brings together a dynamic partnership of The Women’s Organisation, Downtown in Business, Agent Marketing and High Performance Consultancy to deliver a highly innovative and effective business growth and business incubation Programme, it is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

The programme is aimed at enterprises that have the potential to grow by bringing innovative products and processes to market, scaling up, and internationalising, whilst also addressing the key attribute of the knowledge economy which is the virtualisation of labour.

The programme will provide a range of services to businesses including:

•             Support to develop a clear growth strategy for their business aligned to their needs

•             Access to markets – research, business plan/business, pitch preparation

•             Strategic marketing and selling, social media/E-commerce

•             Effective leadership – human resources and talent development

•             Financial Management, raising finance, bid preparation, procurement

•             Talent/People – Networking opportunities locally and globally, referrals to professional partners

•             Developing strategic partnerships

•             Corporate Social Responsibility

The programme is available to SME's across Merseyside and provides funded consultancy to enable businesses to prepare for growth and runs to June 2015. 

Eligibility Criteria (for The Women’s Organisation)

•             Female* led SMEs with that over three years have the potential to increase employment by at least 5 employees or generate additional turnover of £0.5million

•             The business qualifies as an SME under ERDF guidelines

Although The Women’s Organisation will work with women led businesses only, Downtown in Business, Agent Marketing and High Performance Consultancy will work with both male and female led businesses.  Venture Accelerator is part funded by European Regional Development Fund. 

Enquiries for the programme can be made via 0151 706 8111 or hello@thewo.org.uk