TWOCOUNTIES
RESTART GRANT SCHEME NOW OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS On 3 March 2021, the Chancellor announced the Restart Grant Scheme to help support businesses affected by the Coronavirus pandemic as they reopen in line with the gradual lifting of restrictions. Applications for the Restart Scheme are now open until 30 June 2021. Non-essential retail businesses are eligible for one-off grants of up to £6,000 and hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses are eligible for one-off grants of up to £18,000.
SHOW YOUR PRIDE IN THE COUNTY AND MAKE IT WORCESTERSHIRE! Like many others, Worcestershire’s food, drink, and hospitality industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Make It Worcestershire campaign is here to champion the ‘Buy, Eat, Sell & Stay Local’ ethos and offer much-needed support to local businesses. The Make It Worcestershire campaign has been co-developed as part of the county’s Covid-19 recovery plan. The aim is to support our local growers, producers, retailers, and hospitality venues as we move towards our new normal. By adopting the ‘Buy, Eat, Sell & Stay Local’ ethos, we plan to promote the best there is in Worcestershire locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally. The campaign will not only look to help our local businesses become household names with our residents, but also forge crucial business to business relationships so we can all succeed together, as a county. As well as celebrating and bringing together businesses the Make It Worcestershire campaign will be delivering a live virtual webinar to promote local produce, a social media campaign, podcasts and videos and a series of case studies promoting the importance of the ‘Buy, Eat, Sell & Stay local message To get involved with the campaign all you need to do is sign up to become a Worcestershire 1000 member. You will be supplied with all you need to kick off your involvement in the campaign. From pre-prepared social media content to easily printable posters to show your support for the campaign, you’ll have it all at a click of a button. For more information, email contactus@oneworcestershire.com. www.oneworcestershire.com/makeitworcs
The Restart Grant scheme supports businesses that are predominantly reliant on delivering in-person services for the general public.
If you do not meet the qualifying criteria for the Restart Grant you may be able to apply for support from the your local authorities additional restrictions grant fund. Details on how to apply and full eligibility criteria can be found here www.hwchamber.co.uk/restart-grantscheme-now-open-for-applications.
FRIDAY HUB MARKS 12-MONTH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW NETWORKING RECORD A virtual networking event set up at the start of the first lockdown to help businesses across the Marches during the pandemic has been such a success it is now the biggest of its kind in the region.
“The sessions were born out of a desire to offer the business community a place to come together and share their experiences of the pandemic, as well as giving them practical support and advice.
A total of 76 people attended the latest meeting of the Shropshire Business Zoom Room – with 17 new faces swelling the ranks of the hugely popular weekly event as it marked its first anniversary.
“We’ve been told they are now the biggest in the region and are delighted that they have proved so invaluable to so many businesses.”
The free Friday session – a collaboration between the Marches Growth Hub Shropshire and leading business specialists Good2Great – has received rave reviews from businesses across the area since it was launched.
www.bit.ly/FridayHubRegistration
Marches Growth Hub Shropshire Manager, Emma Chapman, said: “We have been absolutely thrilled with the success of the Friday Hub, with the latest session proving to be the biggest yet.”
BETADEN COHORT 4.0 ANNOUNCED Worcestershire’s technology accelerator BetaDen, has announced the identity of eight new early-stage businesses that will join its programme in April. Linda Smith, founder and CEO of BetaDen, said: “We were impressed by the calibre of applications received for Cohort 4, which is testament to BetaDen’s growing reputation for adding real value to early-stage technology businesses and their customers. “The new cohort includes both early-stage and more-established companies seeking to test and develop technology-driven ideas, including an Oxford University spin out and businesses with an established international footprint.”
Business Direction published by Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce
“As we head towards our third birthday in July, several recent cohort members have celebrated landmark contract wins and investment from the likes of HS2, the NHS, Amazon and Royal Mail. These successes demonstrate how our commercial focus on developing technologies that solve real-world problems, combined with access to industry expertise and networks, is helping BetaDen attract early-stage businesses with exciting growth potential to Worcestershire.” www.beta-den.com
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