£1.6m digital project launched to help North Yorkshire businesses

A £1.6m project to help North Yorkshire businesses improve their use of digital technology is being launched in Scarborough.

CU Scarborough, part of the Coventry University Group, is launching a Digital Advantage project which will deliver digital technology workshops and one-to-one support to 150 SMEs across the county.

Support will cover the use of new digital and mobile technologies including web optimisation, creating web content, cyber security, social media, e-commerce, finding new routes to market and advice on accessing appropriate finance.

Grants of up to £5,000 will also be available for SMEs to fund external expertise to help address digital issues specific to the business which are not covered by the project.

The initiative will be delivered from CU Scarborough, with roadshow workshops being run across North Yorkshire.

Recruitment is currently underway for a project team to lead the initiative, with support being rolled out to businesses this summer.

The project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with Coventry University providing match-funding.

It builds on the NYnet programme of superfast broadband infrastructure improvements and the Superfast North Yorkshire project, which provided help and advice for businesses to improve their online performance, which both received ERDF funding.

Martin Lucy, business delivery manager at Coventry University Enterprises, said: “The project has been devised to help businesses in the North Yorkshire area enhance their use of digital technologies to improve their competitiveness.

“Adopting new technologies can speed up internal processes, enable new flexible ways of working and transform how a business functions.

“We are currently recruiting a team to lead the project, and once in place they will look to work with firms across the county.

“We hope to work with a range of businesses, from those who are not making use of the digital technology available to those who are very tech-savvy and would like to find out about the very latest technologies and how to use these.

“New technologies can often save businesses time and money, and incorporating them into the day-to-day activity of businesses is essential to remaining competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace.”