£40,000 pot to help budding enterpreneurs launch their idea into business

"We have 40 grants available and want to give these to creative and sustainable businesses where £1,000 will make a real difference and support people to succeed."

A training provider with £40,000 in grant funding to distribute to budding Warwickshire entrepreneurs is calling on people to pitch their ideas for a chance to receive £1,000 to help start their own business.

PET-Xi is running their Business Futures programme, providing participants with a range of start-up business support and advice as well as the opportunity to take part in a Dragon’s Den-style pitch for the opportunity to receive a £1,000 grant to launch their idea.

The free, six-week online programme is open to Warwickshire residents who are unemployed and includes sessions on business structure, registration, developing a business plan, social media, marketing and competitor analysis.

The course content is pre-recorded, enabling participants to take part at a time that suits them. Those taking part are also invited to take part in live weekly webinars, are allocated a business mentor and receive a free logo design.

At the end of the programme, participants will be invited to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges and could be awarded one of 40 £1,000 grants.

PET-Xi founder Fleur Sexton is urging those with an idea to sign up.

Fleur said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for budding entrepreneurs in Warwickshire to learn more about setting up and running a business. The pandemic has resulted in a huge number of people having business ideas or re-evaluating their situations, and we want to support them.

“This could be someone who has recently launched their idea and is looking to develop this further, or someone who has an idea but doesn’t know where to start.

“We have 40 grants available and want to give these to creative and sustainable businesses where £1,000 will make a real difference and support people to succeed. We can’t wait to start hearing the pitches.”

Warwickshire County Council leader Cllr Seccombe said: "The Business Futures programme is an innovative and exciting initiative which will stimulate new businesses and provide people with much-needed support and opportunities in pursuing their business ideas. The County Coincil is proud to be the lead authority in this programme."

Business Futures is a government-funded programme through the UK Community Renewal Fund, which is allocated locally through Warwickshire County Council. Participants must be aged between 16 and 65, unemployed and living in Warwickshire.

Further information and details on how to apply is available by calling Gary Drake, of PET-Xi, by calling 07852 030334 or emailing gdrake@pet-xi.co.uk. 

* The Business Futures programme is part of a package of start-up support including Warwickshire County Council’s start-up service (delivered via the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce) and the JumpStart project, delivered via Coventry & Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust. For more information, please visit our business start-up pages. For information about other support, please contact the CWLEP Growth Hub.