18 West Northamptonshire entrepreneurs awarded business grants

08 April 2024

18 entrepreneurs from West Northamptonshire have been awarded business grants of £2,000 from the Business & IP Centre Northamptonshire’s (BIPC) Build Your Business initiative.

This project has received £374,600 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, allocated by West Northamptonshire Council who host BIPC Northamptonshire for the county. Build Your Business sees the potential entrepreneurs participate in various business support sessions, designed to help strengthen their business and enable them to establish sustainable new enterprises, followed by the opportunity to secure seed funding.

The Build Your Business programme comprises five modules covering a range of essential topics including marketing, business growth and financial planning, all tailored to businesses’ individual needs. As part of the complete package of support, drop-in sessions are also available at Brixworth, Towcester, Wellingborough and Kettering libraries.

A key component of Build Your Business is the opportunity for entrepreneurs in Northamptonshire under one year old to apply for a £2,000 start-up grant to help turn their idea into a reality. Following completion of the modules of the scheme, eligible businesses are invited to secure this financial boost to implement into the operation of their new enterprise. BIPC Northamptonshire support is also free and unlimited, meaning businesses can utilise their ongoing knowledge and expertise as they continue to grow and develop.

The successful grant winners of the first round of grants are:

• Alessandra Amico-Jones - Alessandra Amico-Jones EFT
• Chris Bartley - Towcester Carpet Cleaning Company
• Leah Campbell - The Inclusive Strengths Co
• Callie Early - Ace Decluttering
• Milly Fyfe - No Fuss Meals For Busy Parents
• Brendan Gilbert & Harry Evans - TwelveTwentyFive
• Stephen Hodgkinson - Affordable EV Charging Solutions
• Nicola Kay - Kay Howard Tutoring
• Zoe Laughton - Laughton Young Consulting Limited
• Roddy Lloyd-Jones – LJPhotostop
• Tessa McAndrew - Remidy Clinic
• Francis Robertson-Marriott & Ralph Major - The Cool Classics (TCC)
• Aveline Rust & Aprille Russell - Glam-Start Hair and Beauty Academy
• Davit Sikharulidze - Mavis Technologies Limited
• Vicky Skinner - Animal Focused
• Gareth Watson & Sarah Watson - Procare Clean
• Adrian Watt - Brackley Ewaste Recycling
• Michelle Westgarth - Wootton Wellness Counselling Services

Animal Focused provides Educational Consultancy, Training and Animal Assisted Therapy.

“We have been using the BIPC Northamptonshire services since we first set up in April 2023, having 1:1 sessions with James and attending some of the webinars and events.

“The support and guidance has been invaluable and provided the reassurance that I could actually run a business!

“Having been awarded the Build Your Business grant we are now able to purchase an online learning platform and develop our online course to support schools who are bringing dogs into classrooms for therapy and educational support, providing downloadable resources like risk assessments and infection control policies as well as providing guidance on ensuring the dogs welfare and introducing learning to the dogs.” Animal Focused founder, Vicky Skinner

Following the success of this first round of grants, the BIPC Northamptonshire is thrilled to announce a second round of funding under the Build Your Business programme. If you're an aspiring local entrepreneur with a business under one year old, you have the chance to apply for a start-up grant of £2,000 to help towards business-associated costs and benefit from expert advice from the Team.

“A huge congratulations to all the winners of the Build Your Business programme.

“Entrepreneurs and start-up businesses thrive in West Northamptonshire and we are dedicated to delivering the necessary support to amplify these activities even more and enable long-term business survival in the area. It is for this reason that we are proud to host the BIPC Northamptonshire Team in West Northamptonshire Council, along with hosting the South East Midlands Growth Hub and our very own Economic Growth & Inward Investment Service.

“As a local authority we want to see every business in our area thrive and for this reason we have allocated the majority of our UK Shared Prosperity and Rural England Prosperity funding towards supporting businesses and creating employment opportunities to sustain the local economy. I encourage all businesses to take a look at our funding website to find details on how to apply for all of our support and grants.”Cllr Daniel Lister, Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration & Growth

Businesses interested in taking advantage of the Build Your Business programme are encouraged to visit the BIPC Northamptonshire website where they can learn more, find dates for drop-in sessions, register for workshops, webinars, one to ones and more.