Business Boost
About this good practice
The Business Boost Programme (BPP) is Derry City and Strabane District Councils principal business support and growth programme. It provides FREE tailored and specialist business support to micro and small enterprises and develops a series of sector specific interventions to support the development of a more prosperous economy within the council area.
The BBP aims to:
• Support creation of new sustainable jobs in the council area
• Act as a pipeline to Invest NI Client financial support for entrepreneurs and businesses with high growth potential
• Strengthen the local business base by assisting businesses to become more competitive in indigenous and export markets
• Promote business growth and innovation
• Provide support for priority sectors
• Provide accessible, need driven business support that is tailored to business requirements
• Engage with key business support stakeholders to develop a portfolio approach to business support in the council area, ensuring that there is no duplication of effort
Programme Structure
The support provided through the BBP comprises of:
• Tailored one to one mentoring (minimum of 1,300 days mentoring to at least 600 participating businesses over the duration of the programme)
• Sector specific workshops - One to Many (20 over the duration of the programme with a minimum of 8 participants per workshop)
Resources needed
The total value of the Business Boost Programme is €590k over 3 years from September 2017 - September 2020.
Evidence of success
For the period September 2017 – April 2019
359 individual business owners received mentoring support with an additional 154 business owners attending the bespoke 1-many workshops.
There are 474 Full Time Equivalent Jobs projected for the 3 year project which exceeds the 400 job creation target for the overall project.
Potential for learning or transfer
Unique to the BBP is the Business Boost Engagement Panel. The panel was established by DCSDC
The purpose of the Business Engagement Panel is to develop a two-way supportive relationship between locally based Business Support Organisations and Derry City and Strabane District Council (DCSDC). This partnership approach aims to coordinate the efforts of all its members