Business start-up centres set to launch
by WIN Admin — published in Press Releases
TWO start-up centres to encourage more people to set up in business are opening in County Durham.
Be Enterprising, the county’s local enterprise growth initiative (LEGI), is behind the new centres in Spennymoor and Newton Aycliffe, which will open next Monday to coincide with the start of Global Enterprise Week 2010.
The centres are part of the Government’s Solutions for Business package of publicly funded business support to help companies grow.
Experienced enterprise coaches will staff each one, giving advice to people with business ideas and practical support to help them turn into reality.
Jeremy Wright from Be Enterprising said: “We need to encourage more people to consider self-employment as a genuine way to earn a living and a key part of this is making advice and support as easy to access as possible.
“Be Enterprising coaches are active across County Durham. With the new centres, people can visit us when they are in town shopping or on their lunch hour.
“We see so many people with really good ideas and all the skills they need to run a business, all they need is a helping hand to get started. With the new centres we can help more people to do this and encourage anyone – whatever their idea – to come along.”
The centres, on Beveridge Way in Newton Aycliffe and in Festival Walk, Spennymoor, will be open between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.
The organisation is launching the new facilities to coincide with Global Enterprise Week, which celebrates self-employment and entrepreneurship.
The Be Enterprising programme, which is part-financed by the European Union’s ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007-13, secured £4.1m ERDF money for the region through One North East. It is part of £300m coming into the North East to support innovation, enterprise and business support from the ERDF pot.
Be Enterprising began in 2006 and since it has worked with more than 3,000 people, 1,845 of whom were supported in moving from benefit dependency to economic activity. Of those, more than 1,000 people started their own businesses.