Chamber unveils first mentors for its #GROWMYSME support programme
Liverpool Chamber has confirmed its first mentors as part of its plans to deliver support to small and medium-sized businesses in the Liverpool City Region.
The chamber will work across the business community to deliver the Business Growth Programme via a series of workshops covering a range of topics that businesses can choose to suit their needs as well as business support and dedicated matched mentoring activity.
Senior professionals from a range of organisations including Moore Media, Sutcliffe, RSM and MSIF will provide mentoring support designed to address specific business needs or ambitions.
Sean Keyes, managing director, Sutcliffe, said: “There is a wealth of un-earthed talent in the Liverpool City Region and Liverpool Chamber’s new Business Growth Programme will be the perfect way to nurture those up-and-coming starlets, with our company having a proud reputation for championing young professionals.
“Sutcliffe will be giving its full support to the new programme and I am now looking forward to sitting down and mentoring the next generation of engineers and business leaders throughout the weeks and months to come.”
Jayne Moore, CEO of Moore Media, said: “As strategic partners of Liverpool Chamber, we recognise the value in businesses supporting each other, not only for the individual businesses but also for the wider business community and city region economy.
“We look forward to mentoring and sharing our expertise with other chamber members, providing solutions to issues that may be holding them back and supporting them to fulfil their business growth ambitions.”
Rob Aitken, partner at RSM, said: “We are keen to encourage and help the development of successful new businesses throughout the Liverpool City Region, so we are delighted to be supporting this initiative by Liverpool Chamber.”
To qualify for the support, SMEs must be headquartered in the Liverpool City Region, have fewer than 250 employees and have received no assistance from the ERDF BGP project via other providers, or no more than £170,980 public funding in the past three years.
Paul Cherpeau, chief executive of Liverpool Chamber, said: “The Business Growth Programme is a crucial mechanism for delivering meaningful support to ambitious SMEs who are looking for ways to expand or enhance their businesses. This, in turn, can provide an important catalyst to boost regional economic growth.
“We have placed mentoring at the very heart of our approach to delivering this support. Our membership is a broad range of professional organisations across a diverse network of sectors, so we are uniquely positioned to offer holistic support to SMEs.”
He added: “Businesses taking part in the programme can also choose to access a range of workshops on topics including legal and HR issues, access to finance, marketing and ethical practices. International trade is another aspiration of many SMEs and our in-house team of export specialists can advise those business owners who may be seeking to break new ground.
“We are confident this fully rounded package will be an attractive proposition for many local businesses and we look forward to receiving their applications.”
Liverpool Chamber’s Business Growth Programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and draws on the expertise of the organisation’s extensive membership base to provide expert mentoring and bitesize training sessions to growing businesses.
