Working with business
Of the 400,000 businesses based in South West England, 99
percent are small or medium size enterprises (SMEs) with less than
250 employees
Accessing Business Support
The South West RDA funds the Business Link service for SMEs
which provides a wide range of information, impartial advice and
access to a range of in-depth support products to help businesses
start, grow and build for the future.
Business Link works with over 100,000 of the region’s SMEs every
year, 88% of whom are very satisfied with the service received.
Business Link provides support in three ways:
- general information and advice through the Business Link
website or telephone service
- working more intensively with a business to identify specific
areas that could benefit from specialist support. This can be
carried out using a simple on-line diagnostic tool or through a
face-to-face meeting with one of the 150 business advisors based in
the region
- brokering to support services to help overcome identified
barriers. Business Link can signpost to a vast range of publicly
and privately-funded support. In some cases Business Link can
also provide publicly-funded vouchers to help pay for that
support.
To contact Business Link and see what they can do for your
business:
Call 0845 600 9966 or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/southwest.
Solutions for Business
The South West RDA also funds a range of products and services
as part of the Solutions for Business portfolio of government
funded business support.
Other work with business
The South West RDA also works directly with larger businesses
and sectors
which are important to a place or the region as a whole. This is a
tailored in-depth service helping these businesses overcome
barriers to their performance.