The Business SPARK and Accelerator programmes – which support organisations to develop, commercialise ideas and bring them to market, as well as supporting already established businesses to grow – are set to come to a close over the coming weeks.
As we bid farewell to the first month of 2025, OxLEP Business are calling for businesses in the West Oxfordshire and Cherwell districts of the county to make use of two key areas of business support – before the programmes come to an end.
The Cherwell and West Oxfordshire Business SPARK programmes offer a range of business support to help aspiring entrepreneurs start their own successful businesses, through webinars and events, 1:1 support and access to signposting, resources and the opportunity to build their networks.
The Cherwell and West Oxfordshire Business Accelerator programmes offer similar packages of support, but providing the expertise and support for pre-existing small businesses to grow.
The West Oxfordshire Business SPARK and Accelerator programmes are set to draw to a close at the end of February, with the Cherwell Business SPARK and Accelerator programmes coming to an end in March.
The OxLEP Business team – who operate as the business ‘Growth Hub’ for Oxfordshire are urging businesses in these areas of the county to make use of these free business support programmes – before it’s too late.
Helen Brind, Growth Hub Manager at OxLEP, said: “Our West Oxfordshire and Cherwell business support programmes offer a real opportunity to budding business-owners and up-and-coming start-ups in these districts to take the next steps in their business journey.
“As is the way with funded projects – these must come to an end, and we can only urge individuals to access the support now, whilst it’s here. For instance, we still have a variety of events on offer until the programmes close, covering themes from innovation – to networking – to investment, with our trusted business experts bringing the subjects to life.
“February is the month of love – and what better way to love your business, then to sign up to a range of free support to take your business aspirations to new heights?”.
The programmes are being delivered by OxLEP Business on behalf of West Oxfordshire and Cherwell District Councils, with the projects funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
OxLEP Business is keen to highlight its support on offer to help businesses across all areas of Oxfordshire to ‘love your business’, with all of the districts able to access its general business support – including 1:1 expert support, events, resources such as its Business Directory, and signposting to a whole host of wider business support.
To find out what support may be available and right for each business, businesses are advised to fill out the Business Support Tool in the first instance – a free business diagnostic tool, which then enables our expert team to craft a bespoke Business Support Action Plan for each organisation.
Find out what’s on offer and fill out the Business Support Tool
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