Support fund launched to help Northumberland businesses recover and restart

Northumberland County Council secured £1.5million from the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s Covid-19 Capacity Fund and part of this is being used to back the Northumberland Covid Business Response Programme (NCBRP).

Delivered by the council-owned company Advance Northumberland, it has two distinct areas of delivery in helping eligible businesses in the county as they look to adapt to new market opportunities and new ways of working and engaging with customers.

The Business Advantage element will allow small, medium and large firms to explore and develop new methods of delivery, supported by expert coaching.

Eligible businesses will have access to 12 hours of one-to-one coaching or consultancy to explore new methods of business delivery, increase productivity or become more resilient.

Meanwhile, Digital Advantage will enable small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to introduce digital tools, such as e-commerce websites and digital marketing campaigns, into their day-to-day business activity.

All the support is fully funded meaning that eligible businesses without a fully-functioning e-commerce website can have one created bespoke for them at no cost or service-lead businesses will be able to have a bespoke marketing campaign delivered on their behalf.

There is also provision to support businesses in the hospitality industry to create a bespoke mobile app for their business allowing them to take orders and payment with limited contact. These will also have the functionality to feed directly into the Government’s track and trace system.

Council leader Peter Jackson, who is also the North of Tyne cabinet member for place and productivity, said: “Through our Northumberland Business Hub, we are working on many fronts to do everything that we can to support businesses in the county through these challenging times, bringing in as much funding and support as we can, and providing specialist services and advice locally to deal with the issues that are being faced.”

For more, visit www.northumberlandbusinessresponse.co.uk – interest is expected to be high, so businesses are urged to register quickly to take advantage of this time-limited offer.

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