Wigan will take centre-stage this week in a Europe-wide bid to give more help and support to new small businesses.
The borough will welcome delegates from all across the European Union on Wednesday (March 17) onwards for the launch of the PROSPECTS initiative.
PROPSECTS (PROmote and SuPort Entrepreneurship to Create new SMEs) is a new initiative which will provide funding to help kindle the entrepreneurial spirit by helping to create more small, medium enterprises (SMEs).
The project is targeted specifically at former colliery and other post-industrial areas such as Wigan.
The council’s Economic Regeneration team will be joining forces with colleagues from across the continent to swap ideas and share information to determine the best way to help new businesses start and grow.
The budget for the entire project stands at nearly €2M and Wigan has been allocated more than €200,000 from the fund with extra from the European Regional Development Fund.
The end result of the project will be to produce a good-practice guide for the entire union that can be used to help stimulate small business growth.
Wigan Council’s Cabinet Champion for Regeneration, Cllr David Molyneux, says: “This is a real coup for our borough. By taking part in this project and hosting this conference we will be boosting Wigan’s international profile and we will also be reaping the rewards of this project’s results.”
The countries that will be represented at the PROSPECTS conference are: France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Hungary.
Wigan Council’s Cabinet Champion for Healthier Communities, Cllr Keith Cunliffe, who has led on the PROSPECTS conference, adds: “In the vacuum left by the passing of the industrial age small and medium sized businesses are very much the lifeblood of our local economy. We know there many bright and enthusiastic people in our borough that will have incredibly good business ideas and just need to right help and advice to get things going.
“We are committed to giving these people as much help as we possibly can and improving the PROSPECTS for everyone in our borough.”
