09/12/2019 - Permalink

News from our partners: Spark Social event hailed huge success

Related topics:

News from our partners Marches Growth Hub Shropshire

A free networking and advice event, Spark Social, which helped celebrate the role social enterprises play across Shropshire has been hailed a huge success.

The Shrewsbury event – staged by Marches Growth Hub Shropshire and Partners for Social Enterprise (PSE) CIC – marked national Social Enterprise Week 2019 and offered support to new and existing social enterprises, small businesses, charities and not-for-profit organisations.

Emma Chapman, Marches Growth Hub Manager Shropshire, said the event had been very well attended and received overwhelmingly positive feedback:-

“We were absolutely delighted with the range of people, organisations and interested groups who attended the event, and all told us just how useful it had been.

“The event provided a real opportunity for people to network with like-minded businesses, see how they can all work more closely together, hear from successful social entrepreneurs and celebrate all things social.

“Shropshire is officially recognised as a Social Enterprise Place, which means that it’s a county where social enterprise is thriving, and the council along with partner organisations is committed to investing locally in the sector.

“Events like this are one of the reasons the county has a reputation for helping social enterprises to flourish to the benefit of the whole area, helping develop skills, creating jobs and regenerating areas.”

Nicky Kent from PSE CIC partnered the Growth Hub at the event, whilst the keynote speech was given by Andrew O’Brien, director of external affairs at Social Enterprise UK – the world’s leading authority on social enterprise and the biggest network of social enterprises in the UK.

He said that 100,000 social enterprises across the country now employed more than two million people in a sector worth £60bn to the national economy.

Spark Social attendees

Attendees at Spark Social, L to r:– Anna Sadler, Andrew O’Brien, Adrian Marshall, Clair Moelwyn-Williams, Nicky Kent, Emma Chapman, Jenny Osborne, David Alcock, Emily Aldridge.

The event, hosted by the University Centre Shrewsbury, also featured one-to-one sessions, networking and advice sessions.

Marches Growth Hub

  • The Marches Growth Hub brings together all national and local business support in one place for the first time and is fully aligned to the Government’s ‘Business is GREAT’ campaign.
  • A comprehensive business support website – www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk – and dedicated enquiry line – 0345 6000 727 – provide businesses across the whole Marches region with access to funding, support and advice. All resources are available to enterprises of all sizes, from start-ups to large employers.
  • This is supported by physical hubs in Telford at the University of Wolverhampton’s Telford Innovation Campus, at Skylon Park in Hereford and at the Food Enterprise Centre in Shrewsbury.

Growth Hubs and their network

The 38 Local Enterprise Partnership-led Growth Hubs across England bring together and simplify access to national and local business support. Supported by Government, Growth Hubs ensure that no matter the size, sector or maturity of a business they provide locally tailored business support and advice to direct businesses to the most appropriate organisations to assist with their specific requests.

Some additional key facts:

  • There are 38 Growth Hubs covering the whole of England – one in each Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area.
  • At the end of 2018/19 financial year, the Government will have invested £56.4 million in Growth Hubs via Local Enterprise Partnerships. The Government has committed a further £12 million to Growth Hubs for 2019-2020.

Marches Growth Hub Shropshire

Marches Growth Hub Shropshire is a collaboration between Shropshire Council and  Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and provides free support to all Shropshire businesses.

Scripted by Be Bold Media