Grant funding set to unlock growth potential of Solent SMEs

Calling all ambitious businesses across the Solent area – don’t miss out on the opportunity to get a grant of up to £25,000 and fully funded specialist services from GetSet for Growth.

Run by GetSet Solent, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the grants will be available to all small and medium businesses (SMEs), across the wider Solent region, including the New Forest, Isle of Wight, Havant, Gosport, Portsmouth, Eastleigh, Southampton and Fareham areas. Grants of up to £25,000 are available to enable businesses to invest in their future growth, boost the economy and provide more jobs to the area.

According to government figures, 73% of UK SMEs claim aspirations for growth. However, many find that obstacles like finding enough profitable customers and accessing finance are holding them back. GetSet Solent aims to help these 'ambitious but stuck' businesses combat these two main growth barriers.

Helen Stratton, programme director for GetSet Solent, says: "This is a really exciting opportunity for businesses across the Solent to get funding to develop and improve their offering for the future. We know the Solent area is full of talented companies and entrepreneurs, and we can’t wait to deliver this funding. The grant programme is there to help ambitious businesses unlock their growth potential both locally and nationally."

GetSet Solent is an innovative business support programme delivering specialist, fully funded access to finance and marketing support to help businesses with the potential and ambition to grow, through a range of engaging workshops, 1:1 sessions and support to access the GetSet Solent Grant Programme. The GetSet Solent support helps businesses improve their leadership and management skills, strengthen their business growth models, strategies and value propositions, build their sales pipelines, and accelerate their conversion rates. Since the programme began in 2013, the national Get Set service has supported over 7,000 businesses across the UK that are looking to grow, who collectively turnover £2 billion – helping them raise over £70m in growth finance, and to create over 3000 jobs. 

The GetSet Solent programme is delivered by YTKO and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).  The YTKO group has more than 30 years’ experience in supporting new entrepreneurs, established businesses and corporates – raising over £40m for clients from a wide range of debt, grant and equity sources, many of whom have previously been unable to access finance. Across its current, 14-year period, YTKO has helped drive inclusive economic growth, supporting more than 22,500 businesses and helping in the creation of over 10,300 jobs.

Business owners that would like to apply for this fully funded support should visit the website.