I WOULD like to make rural businesses aware of a great opportunity to secure additional funding for their organisation.

The Rural Development Growth Programme is once again open for applications and is an opportunity for businesses to develop and create jobs, boost tourism and unlock their potential for growth.

A total of £35 million has been made available across the UK and I hope to see many of the county’s businesses applying to benefit from this fund.

Local firms can apply for a minimum of £20,000 to be used to support their own innovation and development across three key themes; business development, tourism infrastructure and food processing.

In order to help businesses with applying for the Rural Development Growth Programme, the Worcestershire LEP team are running two workshops.

The first workshop is being held from 6pm-8pm on December 11 at Avoncroft Museum in Bromsgrove and the second workshop will take place from 6pm-8pm on January 7 at Pershore College.

The workshops will provide attendees with some more information on the growth programme fund and how to write and submit an application.

These events have also been designed so that businesses can discuss their own company’s ideas and plans with experts, who will be on hand to discuss the funding streams which are most appropriate to attendees’ business models.

Companies that have already benefited from similar funding will also be available to share their experiences of the funding process and to outline how their companies have grown as a result of the funding and support.

For more information on the two workshops and the latest funds and programmes available, visit the Worcestershire LEP website, wlep.co.uk