A LEADING business support organisation has played a pivotal role in distributing nearly £200 million of grants to help Coventry and Warwickshire businesses through Covid-19.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub has worked in partnership with the area’s local authorities, district and borough councils as well as Coventry University and the University of Warwick.
This joint approach has helped local firms access Government COVID-19 grants, as well as support and funding from major local business support programmes.
Sarah Windrum, Chair of CWLEP, said: “The CWLEP Growth Hub has helped businesses access support to tackle other challenges and opportunities, including the UK’s new trading terms with the EU, as well as with Covid-19.
“All of this is helping to lay the foundations for not only recovery from the pandemic but, crucially, our economy’s future growth and to help the government meet its Net Zero and green targets.”
The CWLEP Growth Hub has helped 6,962 companies across the area since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 with 1,966 businesses being supported specifically with matters relating to Covid-19 issues.
Craig Humphrey, Managing Director of the CWLEP Growth Hub, said his team has worked incredibly hard from the start of the pandemic to help businesses with so many issues associated with Covid-19.
“It has been vital in helping to gather crucial real-time data through our SmartRegion reports to ensure the government’s discretionary grant schemes were directed to businesses in sectors that were really struggling at a time when they needed it the most.
“The area has received £55 million from the European Regional Development Fund to fund business support activities since 2016 and the Growth Hub has played an important role in delivering some of the activities and making sure local businesses have been able to access the range of support available.”
