Need a new job?250 are on their way with a £4.1m boost for employers

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Up to 250 new jobs could come from a 4.1 million programme that will give thousands of pounds to small and medium-sized businesses. A 450,000 pot of grant money sliced into chunks of up to 10,000 will be available through the new Sustainable Business Growth Programme. The grants will be given to small-to-medium firms around Greater Lincolnshire which are creating jobs through growth projects.

It could help them develop new products and chase new markets with existing products. There will also be tailored support and help from growth advisers, including two new growth advisers for the North and North East Lincolnshire areas.

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Angela Driver, senior commissioning officer for enterprise at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “There is a growth pot for business, which is focused on helping businesses bring forward projects that will lead to job creation.

“We are wanting to support the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s key sectors agri-food, manufacturing, the care sector and so on. This is EU funding, so the businesses that apply will need to be eligible for EU funding.

“More than 2.4 million of funding has been agreed by the European Structural and Investment Funds for the programme.

“It is a partnership between Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council, E Factor on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council, and the University of Lincoln. The grant money could be available by October this year. Grants of up to 3,000 will be offered to help fund 50 per cent of project costs. Or, grants of up to 10,000 will help fund 30 per cent of project costs.

“There will also be different streams of support, including a focus on resource efficiency, finance readiness and also on supply chains, which began in September. And, the University of Lincoln will offer help for graduate start-up enterprises.

There will be up to 90 places available for recent graduates in Lincolnshire who want to start businesses and chunks of 2,500 available in funding help.”

Vicky Addison, head of business incubation and growth at the University of Lincoln, said: “We are delighted to be launching the Growing Graduate Enterprise programme in collaboration with our partners. It represents a continuation of similar successful initiatives that we have run in the past, and it will make valuable business start-up opportunities available to even more graduates across Greater Lincolnshire.

“We recognise that many of today’s graduates have creative, enterprising minds and good, sustainable ideas for exciting new businesses. This programme will give them the means and opportunity to explore the idea of running their own enterprise by providing vital business support and start-up funding.

“Meanwhile, a separate Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub bid for money is under way to help businesses in the digital age. If successful, it will provide services including digital health checks and cyber security audits. Grants of up to 1,000 will be available for 50 per cent of digital project costs.”

The different elements of the 4.1 million Sustainable Business Growth Programme will be delivered underneath the Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub banner. The programme will be highlighted in an event on October 20 in Sleaford’s New Life Conference Centre. The Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub Update event will look at the funding available for businesses and hold surgeries on the day, as part of Lincolnshire Business Week.

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