Businesses can access a new support service from Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and partners, delivered as part of a successful £2.5 million Regional Growth Fund bid.
Hailed as a ‘one-stop-shop’, Solent Growth Hub will signpost companies and entrepreneurs in the Solent region towards grant funding, training and other support.
From February 2014, the service will offer access to national and local phone helplines and face-to-face advice, mentoring and coaching.
Providers are also being sought for a dedicated online portal with a range of help including a toolkit of hub resources.
Hampshire Chamber is delivering the hub following a successful bid for funding from a consortium of partners led by the University of Portsmouth.
Denise Barlow, Hampshire Chamber’s Head of Projects, said: “It can be tricky to locate the most appropriate sources of business support, whether government or private sector. Solent Growth Hub will act as a central point for small businesses and others to find out everything they need to know about local and national schemes, signposting them to appropriate support and helping them to obtain direct advice.”
Dr Alistair McDermott, Director of Innovation Services at the University of Portsmouth, said: “Chambers of commerce are well established vehicles for business engagement. In our region, Hampshire Chamber is ideally placed to deliver the service because of its extensive membership and links to other organisations.”
Other consortium members are Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth and Southampton city councils, Isle of Wight Council, University of Southampton, Southampton Solent University, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), and UK Trade & Investment.
Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Environment, Cllr Seán Woodward, said: “The landscape of support available for small businesses is complex, and the key objective of this service is to assist businesses in both better interpreting their needs and navigating their way through this landscape. If we can facilitate more business growth in the region, we can accelerate job creation and capitalise on the economy emerging from recession.”
Funding for the hub was unlocked as part of a bidding process that followed confirmation of the £950 million City Deal agreed between government and the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in 2013. The £32 million funding for the network of business support hubs nationally, developed as part of the city deals, is managed by Lancaster University on behalf of BIS.
Consolidating sources of business support into hubs or one-stop-shops was one of the recommendations put forward by Lord Heseltine in his No Stone Unturned report on how best to stimulate regional economies.
Hampshire Chamber will deliver the hub with input from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Business Alliance (HIBA), a grouping of private sector support organisations.
As well as the Chamber, HIBA comprises the Hampshire and Isle of Wight offices of the British Marine Federation, the manufacturers’ organisation EEF, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institute of Directors, the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Enterprise Alliance.
