Green Shoots Plus: Spotlight on new funding for business
The first Shropshire meeting of the new Green Shoots Plus campaign has been held in Shropshire as the campaign rolls out into the county.
Businesses from Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire saw their applications for funding under the newly-extended, Shropshire Star-backed campaign discussed by the Green Shoots Plus decision making panel in Telford.
The group met at the Priorslee Lounge & Bar at the University of Wolverhampton's Telford Innovation Campus in Priorslee, where they debated 12 applications, all sent in since the new fund was announced in February.
The university's deputy vice chancellor Professor Ian Oakes told the group: "Around the table we have the expertise that ensures we can make best use of the money provided for us by national government to support local companies in our region to grow and create employment.
"We are expecting to see strong applications from businesses who have plans which are feasible but unable to attract full funding from elsewhere."
Including those debated in Telford, around 100 applications of interest have so far been lodged for the Green Shoots Plus fund, and the wheels are now in motion to make the campaign's significant cash injection into the local economy a reality.
Green Shoots Plus aims to create more than 370 jobs across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Herefordshire, plus the Black Country, Stafford and South Staffordshire.
It will see a pot of over £4 million used to create the hundreds of new roles across the region.
While the original Green Shoots aimed to create 44 jobs, the successful applicants are on course to deliver an impressive 128 jobs.
A further target of safeguarding 50 jobs was also set, but the original project is now on course to provide security for 73 positions.
The campaign has seen £1.22 million distributed in the Black Country, generating a further £2.97 million in private investment for the region.
Green Shoots Plus, the newly-extended scheme, has now been extended into Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Herefordshire.
Grants are available between £10,000 and £150,000.
They will range between 20 per cent and 30 per cent of the total project cost, dependant on your application and strength of the project.
The University of Wolverhampton Business Solution Centre aims to go from expression of interest to the award of a grant within three to four months.
To be eligible for Green Shoots Plus funding, you must be a small or medium enterprise operating in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Herefordshire or South Staffordshire. Your firm must:
Have been declined by your bank for the required funding; not work in the Retail and Agriculture sectors.
Not have received over 200,000 euros (approx £175,000) in public funding over the last three years.
Have been operating for at least 18 months. Those which fall outside of this scope will be considered on a case by case basis.
Be proposing to carry out a capital project completed by January 2017.
Ensure that the investment is maintained in the region for three years after the projects completion.
Guarantee that any new asset is used exclusively by your company.
Businesses from the following sectors are eligible to apply: advanced manufacturing, building technologies, transport technologies, including aerospace, environmental technologies, business to business services (such as accountancy, design and print services, electrical services, advertising/marketing services).
