HIE extends IMPACT30 support scheme to young entrepreneurs in Moray
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HIGHLANDS and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is to widen a support programme to include young entrepreneurs in Moray.
The IMPACT30 scheme offers bespoke support from industry specialists to people age 35 and under who are in key decision-making roles in young ambitious businesses.
The scheme is operated by HIE in the Highland Council area, as part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal. HIE has now approved a £100,000 investment to widen the programme to businesses in Moray, the Northern and Western Isles, Argyll and Bute, and North Ayrshire.
Those who qualify for the scheme will benefit from 12 months of personalised coaching and mentoring, just-in-time training, and collaborative learning with other participants.
The investment will be targeted at helping young people develop commercial and employment opportunities as part of the region’s economic recovery.
IMPACT30 forms part of the Northern Innovation Hub, a project led by HIE with £11 million from the UK Government and £1.7 million ERDF support as part of the Inverness and Highland City Region Deal.
So far, the programme has run four times in Highland. Forty-nine businesses have taken part, including 19 currently in the programme. The average age of participants is 30 and the average age of their businesses is less than a year.
Extending IMPACT30 is expected to benefit at least another 10 businesses over the next year.
Claire Munro, HIE’s senior project manager for the Northern Innovation Hub, said: "Supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs is essential to future job opportunities, inward investment and community resilience.
"IMPACT30 is about strengthening entrepreneurship to create a more robust and resilient economy, as well as improving business skills and supporting a confident workforce.
"We look forward to welcoming the next cohort for onboarding in January."
Mark Bell, of AAB Consulting, which delivers the scheme on HIE's behalf, said: "IMPACT30 welcomed 19 new businesses in August. It was great to feel how energised they all are about fighting the uncertainty head-on.
"Our immediate task is to help them focus their energy on the things that are most important today, and that they are building their resilience in a way that they can respond to disruptions tomorrow, of which there will be many.
"Each business benefits from having an individual coach, a network to share and learn from, and other subject matter experts on hand to help with discreet challenges."
