Firms in the Solent region are to continue receiving an integrated business support service under a new one-year deal.
The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has awarded the latest annual contract to run the Solent Growth Hub’s ‘one-stop-shop’ to Hampshire Chamber of Commerce.
It follows a year of successful delivery of this element of the service which has seen more than £1.9 million in regional growth funding distributed to start-ups, small businesses and others.
In all, the Hub has signposted more than 2,100 businesses to sources of help and finance.
Stewart Dunn, Hampshire Chamber Chief Executive, said: “The Solent Growth Hub has become a truly best-in-class support service, underpinning the economic growth of our region. It is boosting skills, creating jobs, attracting inward investment and fostering collaboration.”
The Hub is designed to provide a single point of contact for companies and entrepreneurs, linking up sources of local and national support.
As well as a dedicated resource portal, it has a seven-strong team including advisors known as ‘navigators’ who identify the specific support that an enquirer needs to help their business grow.
Denise Barlow, Head of Projects at Hampshire Chamber, said: “Once the most appropriate support is identified, the navigators help provide solutions whether the focus is people and skills, finance, sales and marketing, or something else. It’s all about navigating businesses through the complexity of support and information available from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. We help businesses to start, grow and develop.”
Hampshire Chamber’s extensive business connections across the Solent region and collaborative working has been championed in the past year with bodies such as colleges and universities, the low-carbon Future Solent initiative and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Business Alliance.
Richard Jones, Head of Policy, Communications and Partner Engagement at the Solent LEP, said: “The Solent is a great place to do business and there are a wide range of support organisations out there providing help. However, with such an abundance of support and funding on offer it can be difficult, particularly for SMEs, to know where to start in order to get access to the right information. The Growth Hub is an important tool for our local companies, ensuring they can get access to the right support as quickly and simply as possible.”
