An extra £400,000 in funding has been secured to help nurture the bright ideas of North East businesses.
The Innovation Programme was launched in 2011 by the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) to offer expert help and advice, links to industry experts and suppliers, and up to 40% backing for projects worth between £5,000 and £40,000 for investment-ready companies.
Since then it has provided more than £1.4m in support to help SMEs become more innovative and competitive – creating 128 jobs in the process.
Now the programme is set to be extended beyond its original September end date after a successful bid by the BIC for £407,895 from the European Regional Development Fund.
The money will mean the BIC – which has its headquarters in Sunderland - can support an extra 50 businesses in the region to exploit new opportunities or adapt to meet new challenges in a post-pandemic world.
Gillian Middleton, the BIC’s innovation manager, said: “The timing of the extension is perfect because it means ideas that have been developed by the region’s businesses during the pandemic can be supported and accelerated.
“The crisis has stimulated a wave of innovation from businesses who are adapting to survive or considering emerging trends and exploring new opportunities.
“The Innovation Programme is perfectly placed to help them to take these ideas forward by creating products, processes or services that are either new to them or new to the market.”
The programme has worked with enterprises from all sectors over the last decade and seen the BIC and businesses create everything from hand cream for healthcare workers to seabed analysing software.
Ms Middleton added: “We’re especially keen to reach established companies where innovation can create a step-change in their business, but we’re always open to start-ups who are beginning their journey and are brimming with energy and creativity.”
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