More than 400 businesses supported by Council’s business growth programmes

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has supported more than 400 local businesses on their sustainability and growth journeys since 2019 through the Business Escalator Plus and Digital Boost business support programmes.

Council’s Digital Boost and Business Escalator Plus programmes, targeted at micro businesses and SMEs, are part-funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Investment for Growth and Jobs Northern Ireland (2014-2020) programme.

Digital Boost and Business Escalator Plus Programmes are part of a suite of Council’s business growth interventions and are designed to encourage businesses in Mid and East Antrim to realise and harness their growth potential.

These programmes provide specialist mentoring to support the growth aspirations of local businesses to improve productivity, digital inclination and ultimately create jobs.

At the halfway point for the delivery of Council’s Digital Boost and Business Escalator Plus programmes, 421 business have already been successful in accessing specific tailored one-to-one mentoring support based on business need across a wide range of areas including financial management, E-commerce, sales, HR and staff development, digital marketing, website optimisation and strategic growth, to mention only a few.

More than 750 mentoring days have been provided to 421 businesses participating on the growth programmes, demonstrating the significant level of support provided to assist micro businesses and SMEs in the fulfilment of their sustainability and growth ambitions. 97% of business found the support provided via the Business Escalator and Digital Boost programmes beneficial. This support has assisted with the creation of 163 new jobs.

In addition, Council works closely with a wide range of stakeholders to provide wraparound support to fuel further growth. To date, 91 businesses have been referred to access wider stakeholder supports.

Commenting on the success of the programmes, Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Alderman Noel Williams said: “Business support needs have been at an all-time high given the challenges presented by Covid-19.

“The role of the Business Escalator Plus and Digital Boost programmes has proved integral in providing tailored support to help businesses survive and sustain, as well as continuing to support local businesses to recover and accelerate growth plans.

“Council’s core business growth programmes are still open for applications and I would encourage any business in need of support to contact Council’s Business Client Managers to determine support needs and a suitable package of assistance to fuel business growth and development.”

Two local businesses tell us of their experience of support provided by Council’s Business Escalator Plus Programme.

Lee Turtle and Adrian Stinson, Directors of L&G Composites Ltd, local manufacturers of fibre glass products based in Ballymena explains how the Business Escalator Plus Programme has helped grow their businesses:

“L&G Composites Ltd was established in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. We contacted our local Council to establish if there was any support available to assist our business. We worked closely with our Business Client Manager at the Council who provided us with a tailored package of mentoring support to assist with the financial management of the business especially as our sales started to take off. Since inception our business has continued to grow and has created 4 full time employment positions as demand for our products has increased. As the business has become larger and staff started to be employed we were also allocated support to help us in the area of HR and staff development which has been of great benefit.”

Lynette McHendry, owner of Spear and Arrow Bone Broth, local producer of animal bone broth products based in Larne, tells us how the support provided by the Business Escalator Plus Programme has helped her business explore exporting:

“I am very grateful for the expert advice and practical export support that I have received through Council’s Business Escalator Plus Programme. Before I signed up for the programme I had never really thought about exporting or even considered the logistics of how I could practically export my products. Thanks to the specialist one to one advice and support that I received through the programme, I gained the confidence to seek to expand my customer base outside of Northern Ireland. As a result I have recently secured a contract to export my bone broth products to the Republic of Ireland and hope to continue on my exporting journey reaching individuals all over the world with my products.”

Two local businesses tell us of their experience of support provided by Council’s Digital Boost Programme.

Derek Montgomery, owner of Flossy Treats, local producers of sweet delights based in Ballymena tells us of how the Digital Boost Programme has helped his business:

“As an online business already exporting we were keen to investigate how we could utilise online sales platforms more effectively to grow our export sales and reach more people with our delicious confectionery products. Our Business Client Manager at the Council put in place a package of digital mentoring support to help us with advertising our products via social media and making our ecommerce website easier to find online. The programme has helped our export sales increase by 6% over the past year with our products now being shipped all over the world.”

George Armstrong, Director of Scanmatix Ltd, local Carrickfergus business specialising in inventory control software and stock management tells us of the benefits the Digital Boost Programme has brought to the company:

“We were keen to explore as a company how we could improve our online presence to reach a larger audience both locally, regionally and internationally. We were supported through Council’s Digital Boost programme to explore Google advertising, social media marketing and content development. This support has helped us increase our online traffic by 20% and has enabled us to reach new markets and develop new business contacts.”

Des Gartland, Invest NI’s North Eastern Regional Manager, said: “The Digital Boost and Business Escalator Plus programmes provide tailor made business support to help the business base in the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area to grow and create employment. Invest NI is delighted to support these programmes and work with the council to assist local businesses as they seek advice, guidance and mentoring support on their growth journey.”

To find out more about the support available to your business and how to access free mentoring, please make an enquiry today via https://www.midandeastantrim.g...