Business Support in Cornwall - Looking Forward with Convergence

Whilst we are celebrating the success of Cornwall Pure Business and the end of our Objective One funding, support for high growth businesses will still be available under the new European Union Convergence funding awarded to Cornwall.

Specific projects are yet to be established, however on behalf of the Convergence Partners, the South West Regional Development Agency has launched a call for expressions of interest seeking organisations to manage the delivery of four large scale business support investments:

Business Collaboration Networks
Business Expertise: Coaching for High Growth businesses
Business Creation: High Growth Start Up
Business Creation: Intensive Start Up Support for underrepresented groups

The process for selecting delivery organisations is ongoing and will hopefully be completed early in 2009, in anticipation that businesses will be able to access this support from March / April 09.

In addition to these four business support areas, the Convergence programme has invested in building up a more extensive Business Link service targeted at high growth business in Cornwall. Business Link advisors will identify opportunities and challenges within a client's business and refer them to suitable providers for services including:

mentoring
technical development
design and innovation
leadership, training and workforce development
manufacturing processes, production control and capital investment
IT, e-business and telecommunications
exporting and international trade
diversification
financial management and restructuring

Businesses seeking to access any business support should contact Business Link in the first instance on 0845 600 9966 or www.bldc.co.uk.

Further business support projects are still at the planning stage, and will be announced as they are commissioned.