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Hertfordshire LEP Business Support Package
Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2: a £22m+ tri-LEP investment initiative led by the University of East Anglia and Norfolk County Council, to support SMEs that are making a positive impact on greenhouse gas reduction through the development of innovative technologies, products or services (ERDF funded).
Hertfordshire LEP SME Growth Loan Scheme: loans of £200k – £500k available to established SMEs in Hertfordshire requiring finance to implement expansion activities that will deliver substantial growth (LEP funded).
Our £3.28m package of measures to help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 includes:
Crowdfund Hertfordshire: Small Business Innovation Fund: grants of up to £5,000 for small/micro businesses in tourism, leisure, hospitality, retail, arts and culture (LEP funded, administered by Visit Herts).
Hertfordshire Business Expansion Grant Scheme: grants of £10k - £100k to incentivise SME investment in capital equipment (ERDF and LEP funded, managed by Hertfordshire Growth Hub with referrals to Finance South East).
Volunteer Business Support Scheme: advice and support from a network of business mentors for firms adversely affected by COVID-19 (a LEP funded Hertfordshire Growth Hub service, managed by the University of Hertfordshire).
FOR LOCAL BUSINESS SUPPORTVisit Hertfordshire Growth Hub's business resource page and take a survey on the your business has responded and adapted to the pandemic. Your responses will help shape the service provided.
Not eligible for Business Rate Relief Grants? Other funding opportunities are available in Hertfordshire. Learn more.
Get tailored advice from a Growth Hub Business Adviser:
☎ call 01707 398168
✉ email enquiries@hertsgrowthhub.com
💬 live chat from Monday-Friday, 8.30am-5.30pm
FOR businesses Looking to RE-OPEN and trade safelyExplore guidance, checklists and templates produced by local council regulatory teams to support businesses that are re-opening or diversifying, and to enable them to trade safely and become ‘COVID-19-secure’.
Alternatively, speak to an expert from the Environmental Health team at your local council (visit your council's website for more information) or from Hertfordshire Trading Standards (details below):
☎ call 01707 281401, from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
✉ email trading.standards@hertfordshire.gov.uk
💬 follow Better Business For All @BBFAHerts on Twitter
For skills related queriesVisit HOP (Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal) for current job and volunteering opportunities, careers and skills-related guidance and educational resources.
For queries relating to our Careers & Enterprise Company programme:
✉ email gareth.dace@hertfordshirelep.co.uk
For tourism and hospitality industry queriesExplore the Visit Herts business support page.
✉ email enquiries@visitherts.co.uk
💬 join the LinkedIn forum for Hertfordshire tourism and hospitality businesses
HOW YOU CAN HELP: PAID OPPORTUNITIESHertfordshire County Council has launched additional care and warehousing/driving job opportunities to support the community response to COVID-19. If you have lost your income or have had your hours reduced, and would like to help care for the community, please visit the Community Workforce website here.
Visit the Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal (HOP) to see which sectors are hiring now and apply for live vacancies.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: VOLUNTeering and donationIf you or your business wish to volunteer to help those in need during the Coronavirus crisis, register your interest at #TeamHerts Volunteering to be matched to a local organisation near you.
Hertfordshire Community Foundation (HCF) has awarded over 100 emergency relief grants to local charities supporting the county's most vulnerable people during the pandemic. Find out more about HCF's grants programmes and donate to the Hertfordshire Coronavirus Disaster Relief Fund.
The funding was secured via the ‘Crowdfund Hertfordshire: Small Business Innovation Fund’, part of Hertfordshire LEP’s £3.28m COVID-19 business support package.
This includes five major projects to be delivered in Hertfordshire, set to create over 1,500 jobs and unlock over 12,100 sq. m. commercial space.
The plan sets out how LEPs can aid local economic growth and recovery, focusing on skills, green investment, and targeted stimulus.
Diggers have broken ground for a new multi-storey car park at Northgate End, a key part of the Old River Lane regeneration scheme part funded by Hertfordshire LEP.
Six LEPs, collectively known as ‘Catalyst South’, held a roundtable with Small Business Minister Paul Scully last week to allow the region's businesses to share their challenges during the COVID-19 crisis.
Critical work has been completed on Albury Road as part of the Little Hadham bypass scheme, part-funded by Hertfordshire LEP.