£16m now available to support growing businesses
Businesses with clear growth aspirations are now invited to apply for a share of a £16 million fund via the University of Derby.
The money has been secured from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF), which is aimed at fuelling business expansion and helping to create and safeguard thousands of jobs in the East Midlands region.
The ‘Invest to Grow’ project, is now open for expressions of interest, which can be submitted via the website: www.derby.ac.uk/investtogrow.
The university will use the fund to support business growth in the region by investing in companies, as well as providing access to its extensive range of wider resources including academic expertise and technology.
Professor John Coyne, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Derby, said: “This is a tremendous vote of confidence in our city and region. We are delighted that the university will deliver this multi-million pound investment, supporting companies in the East Midlands to grow and flourish.
“It will benefit companies that need funding or other support to innovate and accelerate growth, particularly those companies which have the potential to become high value incoming generating businesses.
“This funding is particularly timely, especially in a fast growing region such as ours where companies are trying to grow and confidence is returning but it still remains difficult to get all the help needed from the banks.
“Investing in these companies will create high value jobs in the region, which will help to retain our best graduates and attract others, creating a pipeline of young talent to the region.”
David Ralph, Chief Executive of D2N2, the Local Enterprise Partnership for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, added: “It is great news that a fresh injection of funding is now available to help support businesses to grow, create new jobs and safeguard others, as well as access wider resources of expertise.
“We have already seen excellent results from the Regional Growth Fund programme in our area, through our own ‘Unlocking Investment for Growth’ programme and others, such as the Derby Enterprise Growth Fund and Global Derbyshire.
“The Invest to Grow project, managed by the University of Derby, will further enhance the help available to firms in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. I would urge all those who need this assistance to further their business, to look into this new grant project.”
The University of Derby Invest to Grow team can be contacted on 01332 597907 or via email: investtogrow@derby.ac.uk
Source:The University of Derby
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