As part of the new Local Growth fund allocation, almost £3 million has been proposed to support a variety of schemes in order to help Rotherham’s local economy thrive.
Of this, nearly £950,000 has been directed towards start-ups, productivity and low carbon support for local businesses across the borough.
Rotherham’s Council Leader, Cllr Chris Read said the investment would deliver tangible benefits for local businesses, he said: “This funding is great news for businesses in Rotherham. We want our local economy to thrive which is why we’re proposing using funding from our allocation of the Local Growth Fund to do just that.’’
As part of the finances allocated to start-up’s more money has been issued to the highly successful Launchpad programme.
A local programme which provides support through one-to-one business coaching and a range of expert workshops to help your business grow.
Among those to benefit is Annie, co-owner of the Joy of Nutrition, a company specialising in raw food nutrition specialists which help to encourage organic living.
When Annie reflected on the assistance launchpad provided her business, she said: “The marketing workshop is the one that really benefitted us. We learned how to use all these new techniques as tools for our business, which have now helped us see a massive increase in our social media engagement.”
Through the scheme, Joy of Nutrition was able to secure a grant which was used to purchase an industrial sized dehydrator and a stone maker for chocolate production.
Annie said the equipment has enabled the business to significantly improve the quality and taste of their products.
Annie added that the support has helped the business to grow at a ‘reasonable’ rate, she said :“We were originally just doing markets. Now we are doing them more regularly, we run retreats and we are catering a wedding this year, and are now looking to launch a food truck.”
The Local Growth fund forms part of a £5 billion initiative from the UK government which aims to drive economic growth in local areas.
Annie said she would definitely encourage other local business owners to take advantage of the opportunity, emphasising that the advice goes far beyond just financial support.
“I would definitely recommend anyone to do this, they are really wonderful people. It is not just about the money, it is more about the intellect and the knowledge you can gain.”
Photo credit: Joy of Nutrition