£425,000 given to start-up businesses in Gloucestershire

Start and Grow Enterprise has revealed it has invested the equivalent of £425,000 in Gloucestershire businesses and helped hundreds of entrepreneurs pursue their dreams.

By Andrew Merrell | Published Wednesday 9 March 2022

Hundreds of entrepreneurs from Gloucestershire have been benefited from the work of a University of Gloucestershire-based support programme.

A business support programme that has helped Gloucestershire entrepreneurs for the last five years has given the equivalent of £425,000 to county businesses to date.

Start and Grow Enterprise has supported more than 1,200 new entrepreneurs, given out 11,500 hours of business support worth more than £350,000, and another £75,000 in business grants.

The programme, run out of the Gloucester Growth Hub at the University of Gloucestershire’s Oxstalls campus, has proved vital for many small businesses hit hard by Covid-19.

Polly Pick, director of business engagement and partnership at the University of Gloucestershire, said: ‘To have such an effective enterprise start-up programme in the county, working together with the exceptional academic talent we have at the University, is very promising for Gloucestershire’s future.’

Start and Grow Enterprise specialises in delivering training to equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the knowledge they need to launch their own businesses.

It also offers one-to-one support, business coaching and £1,000 grants.

Start and Grow Enterprise received £725,902 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.