New Year brings new support for Belfast businesses

As 2021 gets underway, Belfast businesses are being urged to register for a new, free programme of business support.

Belfast City Council has developed a new package of support for businesses to encourage growth, sustainability and resilience, enhance high growth potential and develop tendering and digital skills as part of its Belfast: Our Recovery plan.

Highlighting the many challenges facing local companies, especially during this difficult time, Chair of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee, councillor David Brooks said: “We’ve listened carefully to Belfast businesses to make sure that we understand their main challenges and we’ve developed a range of support in response to those.

“Now we’re urging businesses to get this New Year off to the best start possible by registering for our support. We’re offering flexible, one-to-one specialist mentoring with experienced business advisors who will evaluate your business, listen to your needs, recommend and deliver the most valuable support for you.

“It’s all free, and due to current restrictions, all sessions are delivered online, in real time, when it’s convenient for you.”

Belfast businesses can benefit from free mentoring in the following areas and more:

Business planning, improvement and efficiency; digital transformation including website development, e-commerce, customer relationship management, online marketing and cyber security; export development; improving tendering and procurement skills; marketing and social media; people and human resource management; product or process development and commercialisation; sales development; securing finance and financial planning.

There will also be a series of online workshops to complement the mentoring – details will be published at www.belfastcity.gov.uk/events (search business events).

Praising the iniative, Alan McKeown, Regional Business Director at Invest Northern Ireland, said: “We are delighted to continue our working partnership with Belfast City Council.

“The Invest NI and ERDF support has offered over half a million pounds of support towards this new programme, one of many we have supported across Northern Ireland.

“The programme aims to help local businesses recover from the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and sustain and grow employment in more than 400 local firms.

“It will also help them to strategically upskill, diversify and plan for future market opportunities.

“We’re committed to working in partnership with our local councils to support existing and new businesses.

“By offering them access to the most relevant, high quality support at each stage of their business journey, we can help them to thrive and enhance their potential during these challenging times.”

This project is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth & Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) Programme. To register for this free support programme, go to https://online.belfastcity.gov.uk/businessregistrationform/ email [email protected] or call 028 9027 0482.

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