News

BUSINESS SUPPORT AT NEW ENTERPRISE GATEWAY 

The Romney Enterprise Gateway (REG) is to introduce its programme of events on the 21st September at the Business Training Centre in New Romney with a VIP launch.

It is the latest addition to SEEDA's successful Enterprise Hub programme, which aims to establish 20 Enterprise Hubs and 20 Gateways across the whole of the South East by 2007.

The Gateway proposal was developed in 2004 by a partnership of local organisations, including: Business Link Kent, Kent County Council, Shepway District Council, Romney Resource 2000 and the Channel Chamber of Commerce, that recognised the need to increase enterprise activity and to make high quality business support easily accessible on Romney Marsh.

Enterprise Gateways can help with everything you need to set up or enhance your own business. They are a network of people and organisations who come together to provide a complete range of services and support for entrepreneurs and young companies.

Membership of the Gateway is open to entrepreneurs, new businesses and pre-start up businesses and is free of charge. Gateway members will receive all the help they need to develop their ideas into successful businesses. Through the Gateway each member will have local access to: training, funding advice, business planning guidance, mentoring support, legislative guidance, business advice, networking support and much more, all tailored to suit their own unique needs.

The Gateway's Director, Jason Martin, former employee of the Marsh Forward Development Trust, is confident that his business experience, his local knowledge and his passion for the area will be invaluable in his new role: "Working for Marsh Forward has given me the opportunity to work closely with many local people and to develop an understanding of the issues faced by them. 

"By combining my local knowledge with the experience gained from running my own business I will be able to put in place the right type of support needed to help local entrepreneurs and to encourage an increase in the number of new Romney Marsh businesses.

"Economic regeneration is vitally important for the Romney Marsh economy, especially with recent significant changes to the South Kent economy. The closure of the Power Stations, the redundancies at the Romney Marsh Potato Company and the massive expansion of Ashford may have a damaging effect on the local economy, particularly in the job market. Our aim is to lessen the damage by helping create more small and medium-sized businesses, which will significantly strengthen the local economy. "

In addition to working with sole traders and private companies the Gateway is showing its commitment to the local community by working with emerging community businesses and not-for profit companies and is allocating resources towards developing enterprise by setting up and supporting youth enterprise projects.

Jason explained: "As well as working with existing community enterprises, such as the Romney Resource Centre and Marsh Forward we have identified a number of local problems that could be addressed through new enterprise projects. We are beginning to work on projects that will: help local farmers to diversify, provide more childcare facilities, create more community cohesion and will provide exciting new opportunities for the area's young people. Maybe in a year or two we could see a Farmers' Market, a Creche, a Marsh Radio Station and a Community Recording Studio."

Jason is keen to add that these are project ideas - not promises.

Romney Enterprise Gateway is also keen to work closely with the area's women entrepreneurs and is keen to provide women friendly business support services to its members, which involves removing the existing barriers most women entrepreneurs face: lack of child care facilities, limited working hours etc. The Gateway has demonstrated its commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs by joining forces with the newly-formed South Kent Women's Business Forum - a network of women entrepreneurs running new and emerging businesses in South Kent.

"We are delighted to be so heavily involved in the South Kent Women's Business Forum. Establishing networking opportunities is vitally important for new businesses; they have the opportunity to trade with, to learn from, to advise and to relax in the company of fellow entrepreneurs. Women's networks are also very supportive, with the members mentoring one another in a much more open and supportive manner that in mixed networks." said  Jason.

"The Romney Enterprise Gateway is hoping the autumn programme of launches will raise its profile and will help it to deliver valuable support to many new members.

"We are looking forward to the upcoming launch events, because they will offer us a chance to meet with more potential entrepreneurs and to tell the community what we have achieved so far."

For more information please write to the Romney Enterprise Gateway or visit Jason Martin and the Gateway team at:

Unit 12a Mountfield Road, New Romney, Kent. TN28 8LH

Tel: 01797369336
Email: info@romneyenterprisegateway.net Web: www.romneyenterprisegateway.net