These examples are delivered in partnership with other East Midlands organisations, putting us at the heart of business support delivery in the region.
East mIDLANDS ACCELERATOR
The East Midlands Accelerator project was led by East Midlands Chamber through a collaborative partnership including our region’s universities and business support agencies.
It was awarded a total of £5.27 million funding from the UK Community Renewal Fund*, with the Chamber and its partners matching funds of £491k to the project. Qualifying areas were: Derbyshire Dales; High Peak; Mansfield; Bassetlaw; Newark & Sherwood; Nottingham City and Leicester City. Retail, manufacturing and the visitor economy were treated as priority sectors.
The project was delivered as five different Accelerator strands.
*This project was part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund.
net zero accelerator
Promoting green business skills, investment in net zero business practices, and offering financial support for net zero or carbon neutrality practices.
Digital Transformation Accelerator
Helping businesses implement digital and e-commerce solutions, become online bookable, and drive market town footfall.
Start Up to Scale Up Accelerator
Providing specialist mentoring and financial support to help businesses to launch or develop a product or process.
Kickstart Accelerator
Offering training and mentoring support to improve job retention, including a wage subsidy to convert a Kickstart or Graduate placement into a new sustained job.
Financial Accelerator:
Providing grants and growth vouchers with the aim of recruiting and retaining staff.
East Midlands Accelerator
The project offered businesses the funding, training and support needed for growth and entrepreneurship; creating and safeguarding jobs; and aiding recovery from the Covid pandemic.
The project supported 2,153 businesses and delivered 5,351 business support interactions. Some 391 grants were awarded – valued at £2,89 million – and 415 specialist Consultancy projects brokered. A total of 148 unemployed people were supported into work.
Through the project, the services of the Chamber and its partners have been wide-ranging. They included (but were not limited to):
Carbon emissions
Helping businesses take their first steps to understanding their carbon emissions, produce a sustainability plan, transform to an electric fleet and secure Investors in the Environment accreditation.
Digital solutions
Helping businesses implement new digital solutions such as e-commerce websites, social media strategies and CRMs.
Connecting businesses
Connecting businesses with a wider network through the Chamber’s peer networks and the East Midlands Manufacturing Network.
Kickstart subsidy
Helping young people secure permanent employment and bring much-needed new resource into small businesses through the Kickstart wage subsidy.
Develop skills
Developing skills amongst leaders through the Help to Grow: Management training subsidy.
East Midlands Accelerator
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East Midlands Accelerator
led by east midlands chamber
Led by East Midlands Chamber and part-funded by Leicestershire County Council and the European Regional Development Fund.
The Digital Growth Programme was designed to help SMEs across Leicester and Leicestershire embrace technology, learn about the latest digital marketing trends and gain digital skills.
The project ran from 1 July 2016 to 31 March 2022 and delivered a comprehensive programme of 2 hour awareness-raising events and 3-6 hour strategic action-planning workshops supported by specialist advisers and grant funding.
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1,888 businesses supported
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£2.2 million grants awarded to 211 businesses
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£3.8 million private sector technology investment
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252 businesses received dedicated specialist advice
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337 two-hour events delivered to 8,423 business delegates
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252 three to six-hour strategic workshops delivered to 2,638 delegates
Digital Growth Programme
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Digital Growth Programme
Chesterfield Digital High Street
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helping high street businesses
The Bassetlaw High Street Business Support Programme was designed to help high street businesses implement modern forms of online trading to complement, rather than replace, their high street presence.
A total of 90 retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses across the district benefitted from one-to-one support from a High Street Adviser, and 78 businesses received grant funding of up to £2,000 to help implement business improvement actions.
The project was funded by Bassetlaw District Council through HM Government’s Welcome Back Fund which was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and delivered in partnership with East Midlands Chamber.
