Record number of start-up businesses in the Highlands

Grant funding from The Highland Council for business start-ups has helped the area register a record number of new businesses in the last year.

Highland Council's Business Gateway service has supported over 2000 businesses with start-up and growth support in the last year and assisted 358 to successfully start to trade.

The Business Gateway service is fully funded with local business advisers from Caithness to Inverness and from Lochaber to Sutherland. The service provides local one-to-one support and online with webinars, tutorials, digital help along with a suite of resources to support businesses, allowing them to be commercially successful and help grow the Highland economy.

Chair of The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: "The start-up success rate demonstrates that against a backdrop of a challenging environment the Highland area is performing extremely well. We continue to be committed to encouraging and supporting enterprise. Small businesses are the backbone of our local communities and the driver of economic growth within the Highlands."

Bealach Gin benefited from a start-up grant. Catriona and Cara, two young mums, founders and creators of the business in Letterfinlay, Spean Bridge said: "The application process was simple and straightforward, thanks to the support of Business Gateway Highland, who helped us every step of the way."

This Highland Council start-up grant has given new entrepreneurs a financial boost, allowing them to innovate, increase productivity, and stimulate economic growth in their communities.

Another Highland Business that benefited from grant support was woodturner Daniel Stewart from Garve. Daniel said: "I was able to renew power supplies in my workshops, this allowed me to buy equipment which before, I wasn't able to run due to power constraints. This meant I could produce a variety of different products in a more streamlined way."

Business Gateway's start-up coordinator, Dianne Swanepoel commented: "'I would encourage anyone thinking of starting a business or growing an existing business to make contact with Business Gateway Highland as your first stop shop and make the most of the grant funding support available."

Business Gateway Highland is an integral part of how Highland Council supports the local economy. The service offers free advice to help all businesses start up and grow. Their customer satisfaction rates in the last 12 months are some of the highest in the country, with local adviser satisfaction at *88%. They can help turn an idea into reality,

For more information on how the service can help your business go to:

Business Gateway Highland

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