The Business Magazine March 2024

OXLEP Bringing Business Support to All Corners of Oxfordshire

Sponsored by

Share

OxLEP Business is here to engage and support small businesses, entrepreneurs, and social-minded enterprises through a range of government-funded programmes, known as the Growth Hub.

If you are a business or have an idea for a business in Oxfordshire, OxLEP Business offer friendly, prompt and professional business support at no cost. These services range from one-to-one and peer support to online workshops, grants and business networking events.

Last November, we published the OxLEP Business & Skills Impact Report.

Impact Report Mag Mockup 2-01 This reveals how in 2020-2021, we engaged with 2,670 business and 1,374 of them completed our Business Support Tool, a quick way for us to find out what bespoke support was needed for each business.

From there we delivered over £1.9m worth of support and created 487 new jobs, by supporting over 100 new business in our Start-Up Club, 22 from Foundations to Growth and by providing one-to-one support to over 400 businesses. On top of this, we delivered 156 learning sessions and 152 events and vlogs.

Our data also showed that it’s not just pre-start or start-up level businesses that benefitted from our services during this time; over 40% were classified as established, revealing that businesses of all sizes and sectors engaged with OxLEP Business.

“The one-to-one element was most attractive to me. I was keen to get some expert advice on imports and exports to ensure that we were doing all we needed to be doing for now and in preparation for the future. I was put in touch with an incredibly knowledgeable advisor who was able to cut through the jargon and the acronyms and answer my specific questions, so I was much clearer as to what I needed to do.” Tim Millard, MD, ES Precision

PROGRAMMES IN FOCUS

OxLEP Business Growth Hub’s support offer is continually developing to react to the needs of the business community. We offer a range of services for all stages of businesses, from the conception stage to established business (with less than 250 employees), and look for new, in-demand ways to support growth and provide access to funding for clients.

ONE TO ONE SUPPORT

One to one sessions with an OxLEP Business advisor is our most popular package of support. From ambitious and passionate Start-Up and Growth Businesses to established business leaders who need a fresh perspective on their strategy and business goals, help from dedicated professionals is invaluable. This experience comes with no agenda and no one-size-fits-all approach, only a passion to provide Oxfordshire businesses with the support that is right for them.

You can also combine networking, group learning and one-to-one support in our Peer Networks programme. Here, business leaders can build their confidence, discuss their ideas and challenges, and work with advisors to develop their potential for future growth and productivity.

Across all of our one-to-one offer, OxLEP Business has over 20 experienced advisors available to provide support and guidance.

GRANTS

OxLEP Business offer funding and grant opportunities for social enterprises and SMEs looking to grow and innovate.

These grant opportunities are of critical importance for many businesses. Since 2018 we have committed over £5 million of grant funds against projects costs of in excess of £9.9 million.

Different grants are available through our business support programmes, for example the ISfB Go-Create grant and the Business Investment Fund (BIF).

WEBINARS

As well as the online sessions we run for Start-Up Club and other support on o er, we deliver informative online webinars regularly to help businesses with issues ranging from marketing and sales to accounting and finance. We have regular Thursday evening educational webinars with topics like ‘Seven Steps to Social Selling’ and ‘How to Fill and Sell Your Event’, as well as one-to-one sessions delivered by carefully chosen partners.

EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUND (ERDF)

Through two exciting and highly valued ERDF programmes, eScalate and ISfB, we can o er businesses competitive grant funding and laser-focused support, whether a business is a not-for-profit social enterprise looking for specialist guidance, or a SME looking for funding to get an innovative product or service to the ground.

“It can be very hard to get support and funding for a social enterprise. We were signposted to OxLEP’s eScalate programme – specifically set up to support social enterprises. When we reached out to them, they were extremely supportive. They provided us with one-to-one advice and supported us to apply for grant funding.” Jane Lennon, Communications Manager. Primary Care International

“I’ve got a lot of business experience, but not specifically as an entrepreneur. I’ve built and managed businesses as an MD, but in established businesses. The support that OxLEP have provided in the one-to-one sessions, particularly in signposting and introductions to people who can help in research for instance, has been invaluable.” Darren Evans, Founder. After Cloud

FIND OUT WHAT SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE TO YOUR BUSINESS

The easiest thing to do to find out exactly what is right for your business is to complete the Business Support Tool, which takes no more than 7 minutes, and we will get back to you with a no obligation Business Support Plan tailored to your needs.

Interested in our online webinars and in person events? Check out the Events page on our website to see what’s coming up for 2022.

www.oxlepbusiness.co.uk/oxlep-growth-hub

MEET THE OXLEP BUSINESS TEAM

HELEN BRIND

Helen is the Growth Hub Manager developing and ensuring the delivery of a strong support programme for Oxfordshire businesses. She leads her team by example, developing strong relationships that enable her to manage culture change, o er coaching, mentoring and facilitation to support her staff.

TRACY JAMES

Tracy is our European Programme Executive for the Innovation Support for Business (ISfB) programme. She ensures the full compliance of our partnership governance requirements are met and proactively manages our partner relationships. Tracy drives value for Growth Hub clients and is responsible for delivering key project outcomes.

SARAH BEAL

Sarah is our Programme Manager responsible for the delivery of the eScalate programme, which is aimed at enterprises for social good and for growing businesses looking to scale.