Funding unlocks support for local business

Published: 12 July 2023

Four Derby organisations have won Government funding to deliver tailor-made programmes of support for local businesses.

East Midlands Chamber, Marketing Derby, the University of Derby and the Council’s Employment and Skills team will each benefit from a share of £2.3m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). Their combined programmes aim to create 600 jobs and bring significant investment to the city over the next two years.

Back in March a range of experienced support providers responded to the Council’s open call for applications to deliver bespoke projects to help businesses grow and advance. Applicants were assessed on agreed criteria, including value for money, proposed outcomes and relevant experience of successfully delivering local support previously.

The process called on stakeholders and partners including local businesses to outline the most pressing local challenges and asked for their thoughts on projects and initiatives that could address them. This identified four priority areas:

• Early years (£345k) - Programmes to enable entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses in their first years in Derby
• Sector opportunities (£1.13m) Programmes that champion innovation in product, process or service delivery, enabling companies to develop. 
• Inward investment (£600k) - A marketing programme to bring new key sector companies or to support new external investment into the city. 
• Recruitment and skills – (300k) Funding for supporting roles that help with recruitment and skills provision and growth and scale-up advice

Find out more about the successful bidders and their programmes

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Culture and Tourism at Derby City Council said:

Our focus is on doing everything we can to make Derby a fantastic place to live, visit and do business. These programmes will go a long way to attract investment, create jobs and help businesses to innovate and thrive, which in turn is crucial to our future economic growth.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund was launched in April 2022 to replace EU funding. It is a key part of the Government’s “levelling-up” agenda and is aimed at boosting communities, supporting local businesses and improving skills.

Every part of the UK is receiving an allocation from the fund, covering three years until the end of the 2024-25 financial year.  Following Government approval of its Investment Plan, Derby City Council was awarded a total of £6.1m from the core fund. Each authority is encouraged to use the money to meet the unique needs of their community and location. 

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