Over the last three years, Ballymena Business Centre’s Enabling Enterprise Project, funded by The Gallaher Trust, has supported a total of 127 business start-ups.
First launched in October 2018 alongside £183,600 in funding from the Trust, the project aimed to connect people, improve skills and transform enterprise and business in Ballymena. This was achieved through hosting roadshows, delivering training workshops, offering seed funding, and providing test trading opportunities.
The project has now supported a total of 127 business start-ups which has seen £63,500 reinvested, via seed funding, into the local community.
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Alongside assisting business start-ups and reinvesting funds into the local economy, an additional 24 new jobs were also created via the work of the project.
Roy Douglas, a member of The Gallaher Trust’s Board of Trustees, explained: “Ballymena Business Centre has been associated with driving enterprise and entrepreneurship in our local community for over 30 years. The Ballymena Business Centre’s Enabling Enterprise Project shares the Trust’s ethos of providing opportunities for job creation and skills development which is why we were keen to get involved. Communities and businesses alike have come through some very tough times in recent years, but the creation of new jobs will stand Ballymena and its people in good stead for future growth.”
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Melanie Christie Boyle MBE, Chief Executive (CE) of Ballymena Business Centre added: “Enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation are at the heart of our local economy. Despite the challenges we have faced as a social enterprise, we have to be adaptable and responsive so that we can continue to assist entrepreneurs to succeed in their business journey. Working on the Enabling Enterprise Project, with funding from The Gallaher Trust, gave us the opportunity to channel resources where it was needed most – improving skills and supporting job creation.”
To find out more about the projects that The Gallaher Trust supports, click here.
Source: Written from press release.
