Individuals and enterprises from across the county borough are being urged to sign up for more than £275k worth of business support as part of a programme delivered by some of the most established business experts in the region.
Small business support and coworking specialists Town Square Spaces Ltd (TownSq) will collaborate with the Welsh Innovation Centre for Enterprise (ICE) to offer a range of support as part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF).
Throughout 2024 the programme will create and deliver events and support designed to boost local startups and freelancers and give Caerphilly businesses everything they need to grow, creating jobs and boosting the local economy.
Support will include workshops, training and one-to-one support on topics such as marketing, financial planning and customer engagement, Expos to allow local enterprises to showcase their products and services and networking events to connect potential partners, suppliers and customers together. The programme will also see TownSq create several coworking venues to give freelancers and small businesses access to flexible working opportunities in the town centre and more rural parts of the county borough, through its cowork local project.
Commercial Director for TownSq, Kevin Mansell-Abell said the programme would be a boost for a region which already had so much promise. Kevin said: “Caerphilly has a long-standing history of fostering new and exciting businesses. Its ethos of giving founders an environment of support to begin and build has been used as a model for enterprise, being replicated across the country.
“We’ve learnt so much by supporting small businesses across the UK, but we’ve always kept our HQ in Caerphilly. We know the talent and potential that’s here because we’ve been a part of it for over a decade, and so it’s special for us that, alongside our partners, we will be working to deliver support across our home region again.”
CEO of Welsh ICE, Lesley Williams said the range of support on offer meant there was something for businesses of all stages. Lesley said: “It’s wonderful to extend our Caerphilly hub offer further across the region, and to be working more closely with our friends at Town Sq to offer such a holistic package of business support in the process.
“Welsh ICE houses a significant community of business owners offering an exciting network in the heart of the county borough. This programme was designed with the ambition of offering more support opportunities across local high streets, helping boost businesses to the benefit of locals and tourists alike.
“There’s something for everyone, be it an individual starting up for the first time, or a more established business looking to grow!”
