Oxford City Council is hosting a ‘Meet the Buyer’ event at the Town Hall in Oxford, from 9.30 am on Tuesday 28th February 2023.

Whether you are already a supplier to Oxford City Council or are an impact enterprise in Oxfordshire keen to become one, then this event is for you.

It will provide an ideal opportunity to meet and network with other local businesses, public and voluntary sector bodies. You will also hear from inspiring speakers, on a range of relevant and interesting topics, including the significant shift in demand for Social Value to be demonstrated by suppliers. There will also be demonstrations on tendering portals and other ‘how to’ workshops.

Oxford City Council has collaborated with other key local organisations to provide this platform for them and others to promote best practice and opportunities for all organisations across the county. Partners include Aspire, OSEP CIC, under OxLEP’s fully funded eScalate programme, local businesses, Oxford Direct Services, and the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership.

Please find the agenda* below. *(subject to change)

Who is it for?

This event is aimed at SMEs that are Social Enterprises, social entrepreneurs, enterprising charities and other purposeful businesses, seeking to establish relationships with interested buyers in Oxfordshire, as well as buyers in Oxfordshire seeking to support local, social enterprises and diversify their supply chains.

About the eScalate Programme

eScalate, is a three-year project, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which runs until April 2023 to support Social Enterprises, social entrepreneurs, enterprising charities and purposeful businesses in Oxfordshire.

Support includes:

• one to ones
• workshops
• peer support sessions

For more information about the eScalate programme , visit www.oxfordshirelep.com/escalate

Please note that this event is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is delivered as part of the eScalate programme to help SMEs. By engaging in this programme you are being offered assistance under the De Minimis regulation which allows a company to receive up to but not exceeding €200,000 of public funding (at the applicable exchange rate) of De Minimis aid over a rolling three-tax year fiscal period. This De Minimis declaration does not cover undertakings engaged in: the primary production of agricultural goods and fisheries/aquaculture, road freight, services of general economic interest and export related activities and activities favouring domestic over imported goods. Please note, support cannot be given to undertakings (businesses) in difficulty. In order to receive support from this programme, you will be required to complete an application form and other relevant documentation. If you need to check your current position for state aid please contact us. If you would like any further information on De Minimis aid and Special Drawing Rights (SDR) subsidies, please see the state aid page on the OxLEP Business website:

https://oxlepbusiness.co.uk/state-aid