Welcome to the Harborough Business Bulletin. We provide a fortnightly overview of the latest business related news, initiatives and support packages.

The Young Entrepreneurs Challenge is provided by Verizon Business and Unloc. The challenge is an annual event that seeks to find cutting-edge young talent across Europe. The 2024 edition of the competition is accepting applications from residents and/or citizens of a mainland European country aged between 16 and 25 years on 1 February 2024.

Business proposals must meet the following criteria:

• Be legal in all mainland European countries
• Be either a pre-start (not yet trading); or not have been trading for more than three years and have an annual turnover of less than £100,000 (€120,000) in its most recent financial year
• Be the applicant's own idea and not infringe on the copyright, patent or intellectual property of others

The overall winner receives a £10,000 (€12,000) grant. The winner also attends the One Young World 2024 Global Summit in Montréal. This annual event brings together young leaders from 190+ countries and 250+ organisations.

We're thrilled to introduce an exciting initiative recently launched by De Montfort University. It's a ground-breaking project designed to connect your organisation with a fully funded intern.

The best part? There's absolutely no financial burden on your business, as the funding covers the intern's salary at the national living wage.

The intern would work for a total of 6 weeks at 18.5 hours a week - totalling 111 hours.

The start date would be around 17 June 2024 and the last day for the interns to work would be 26 July 2024.

More information about this fantastic opportunity is available from De Montfort University.

Following the government’s allocation of funding for electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, Leicestershire County Council  is conducting a countywide electric vehicle survey and interactive chargepoint map.

The survey and interactive chargepoint map provide the opportunity for current and future EV owners to share information about their charging habits and their potential charging concerns and suggest locations in Leicestershire where they would like to see a public chargepoint installed.

Feedback will provide a better understanding of the demand for on-street chargepoints and charging requirements and help plan a network of chargepoints that works for our communities.

With costs rising, many food and drink businesses are under pressure. Natwest is highlighting the significant barriers black-owned businesses encounter when trying to access finance.

Enterprise Nation and Uber Eats are joining forces to support firms via the Black Business Fund. The fund gives black-owned restaurants access to grants and business schemes that can help them boost their businesses. 

The £250,000 fund will be distributed to black-owned restaurants. Twenty-five restaurants will each receive £10,000, as well as access to business support from Enterprise Nation. At least half of the funding will be allocated to businesses outside of London. 

Milestone Projects, consultants in warehouse optimisation, are now based at Harborough Innovation Centre (HIC), marking a significant step in their journey towards revolutionising warehouse operations in the UK and EU. With two decades of engineering expertise and a unique approach that combines deep client understanding with innovative 3D modelling, Milestone Projects is not just another consultancy. Their decision to base operations at Harborough Innovation Centre, known for its vibrant collaborative environment and state-of-the-art facilities, underscores their commitment to innovation, agility, and client solutions. Find out more about why they are choosing to be based at Harborough Innovation Centre. 

The Trading Standards organisation has excellent guidance aimed at protecting individuals and organisations from online fraud. Information includes:

• Black Friday/Cyber Monday Scams

• Recovery fraud

• A warning to landline users

• Trader schemes used by rogue traders

Bystander Training is available to all individuals working with the public, particularly in the night-time economy.

The interactive online workshop will explore:

- The extent of violence against women in the UK

- Better understanding of what prevents and motivates bystander action

- A range of safe options that make up a bystander toolkit

- Practising responses to challenging situations

Contact the Community Safety team for information about the courses and to book onto one of the dates below:

• 16 November 09:30 -11:30 am - Teams

• 24 November 09:30 -11:30 am - Teams

• 8 December 09:30 -11:30 - Zoom

• 8 December 13:00 -15:00 - Teams

• 18 December 10:00 -12:00 -Teams