Oxfordshire business leaders gather to celebrate major business support programmes

The business community in Oxford came together at a special event to celebrate two business support programmes that ended in April, each of which have collectively made a significant impact on the county’s business landscape.

This event, held on 7 June (last Wednesday) at Oxford’s Natural History Museum, was led by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

These two business support initiatives, the eScalate programme and the ISfB programme (Innovation Support for Business), were exclusively funded by by ERDF means and were celebrated at the event by leaders from the county’s small and medium business community brought together by OxLEP.

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The eScalate programme made its impact through a variety of means including: 58 grants awarded to Oxfordshire businesses, with a total value of just under £630,000; and 7,350 hours of support in total for the 717 business signed up to the programme.

ISfB supported businesses through 86 grants awarded to Oxfordshire businesses, with a total value of just over £1,338,000; and 4,830 hours of support given to the 683 businesses that signed up.

During the reception, a number of awards were handed out to stand-out companies who have accessed support through the programmes including: Darcica Logistics Ltd, who received an award for Most impactful new product or service; Send it to Alex, who received the Most socially minded organisation award; and Cognitant Group Limited, who won the award for Most thriving business.

Other recipients of awards included: Fermtech, Low Carbon Hub, and Outside Ideas Ltd. These companies won awards for Most innovative business (Fermtech), Most environmentally sustainable business (Low Carbon Hub), and Business Hero (Outside Ideas).

Growth Hub Manager for OxLEP Helen Brind said: “We were delighted to bring so many of our wonderful clients together for our special, celebratory reception – it really helped to bring to life the level of support and the wide impact our ERDF programmes made. 

“The impact of the support delivered through the ISfB and eScalate programmes has been substantial and significant for Oxfordshire SME’s. I am incredibly proud of these programmes and the team who have delivered them. Supporting businesses in Oxfordshire to thrive is part of who we are and we are motivated by the success of the businesses we support.”

“On behalf of OxLEP Business, I would like to thank our many delivery partners, sub-contractors and individuals who have helped to make our ERDF activity a real success and we look forward to sharing the impacts that we have made as part of our ongoing evaluation of the programmes.

“In the meantime, I would encourage the county’s business community to continue to engage with us. We have a significant business support offer in-place that is driven by what companies from across Oxfordshire say that they need.''

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