Brilliant support for your business
Ride the Wave – a new programme of business support announced for 2016
Brighton Chamber is pleased to announce that they have successfully bid to deliver a new Ride the Wave business support programme. Funded and led by Brighton & Hove City Council, Ride the Wave will deliver subsidised training and mentoring to entrepreneurs in the city and will formally launch in late April.
This is the fifth year Brighton & Hove City Council has offered the Ride the Wave business support scheme. The council has contracted with the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce to deliver training and mentoring to at least 130 pre-start, new-start and existing businesses that are based in the city. It is hoped that a variety of new and developing entrepreneurs will benefit from the subsidised training as part of the council’s support for business.
Brighton Chamber director, Sarah Springford said on winning the contract ‘It’s good news for Brighton businesses, that the Council are able to support the economy in this way. Over 150 businesses will benefit, and the programme will help them to grow and to create new jobs. We now have a generation of businesses that have benefited from the Ride the Wave programme and who are becoming established: accessing new initiatives like Entrepreneurial Spark and government funded support like the UKTI’
Councillor Warren Morgan, chair of the city’s economic development committee, said: “Following a competitive bidding process we are pleased to have appointed the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce to deliver an exciting new series of business support in the city. The new series will offer a more intensive range of opportunities to help sustain and grow our vibrant business base and local economy.”
In this new fifth programme there will be workshops for people with a business idea wanting to start, and start-up businesses in their first year of trading. There will be two workshops for existing businesses wanting to overcome the barriers to growth, and an event to help with tendering and public procurement. All the delegates will have the chance to have a follow up session after the event with a business mentor.
Photo caption and story
Pictured here is Carol Lewis (President of Brighton Chamber) with some of the businesses who have benefited from previous Ride the Wave programmes: Dennis Muir (Gloprint), Emma Fish (Brighton Jewel), James Forbes (Man Friday) and Jane Robbie (Jane’s Place) at Jane’s Place, a creative, well-being event space based at her home in West Hove.
Jane explains that she found it so useful to meet with other businesses with the same challenges and issues, that five of them who met at a Ride the Wave workshop, now regularly meet up. "Running a small business is exciting but can feel quite isolating at times. It's been really beneficial to continue to meet up, bounce ideas around, discuss challenges and of course offer plenty of encouragement and support. The longer term benefits of attending a Ride the Wave workshop have been huge!"
For more information about workshops and support email ridethewave@businessinbrighton.org.uk and see https://www.businessinbrighton.org.uk/ridethewave
Photos by Simon Callaghan http://www.simoncallaghanphotography.com/