‘Trio of Specialists’ set to unlock the entrepreneurial spirit

Business Link West Midlands has strengthened its enterprise offer even further this week with the appointment of a trio of ‘sector specialists’ for the West Midlands. The organisation, which is looking to add £100m to the economy this year, has added the Prince’s Trust (catering specifically for 16 to 30 year-old entrepreneurs), the Women’s Business Development Agency (WBDA) and Tribal’s Creative Launchpad (targeting the buoyant creative industries) to their list of providers. This announcement ties in with the growing need to tailor the business support offer and should now act as

a catalyst for helping a further 2000 entrepreneurs turn their dreams into commercial reality.

Jill Parker, Enterprise Director for Business Link West Midlands, was delighted with the news: “We said that the service would herald a new era of support and this exactly what we are doing, with the appointment of three proven experts in the fields of young people, female and creative enterprises. “These areas all share massive growth potential and, research has proven that they need a different type of help than the mainstream assistance. This is reflected in the working partnerships with the Prince’s Trust, WBDA and Tribal’s Creative Launchpad – organisations that are pioneering specialist support in both the Midlands and the UK.” She continued: “This level of expertise has never been assembled before and signals our intentions to provide independent, high quality advice that meets the needs of the business and entrepreneur.” The three specialists bring with them unique ways of working with companies and individuals in their chosen field and will employ a range of innovative techniques, training courses and development programmes to help get businesses started and on the expansion track.

They join an already impressive line-up of Enterprise Support providers, including Enterprise Central and Business Insight (Birmingham), Black Country Small Business Service, Business Enterprise Support (Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire) and the Eastern Region Enterprise Consortium (Coventry, Warwickshire and Staffordshire). Together, the organisations will deliver a large part of Business Link West Midlands’ enterprise offer through workshops, one-on-one mentoring, clinics and pre-start events, with the overall aim of helping 2000 companies in the West Midlands. “Creating this number of business should add over £100m to the regional economy and, more importantly, should give everyone wanting to start a business – regardless of age, race, where they live and sector focus – the best possible chance to be successful...this has got to be good news!,” concluded Jill.