Background

Action in rural Sussex is working in collaboration with the Let’s Do Business Group (a not-for-private profit business development organisation) to encourage the formation of peer-to-peer business networks in rural East Sussex and to improve access to free business advice and support.

This project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and will run until the end of March 2019.

Our Goal

The primary goal is to promote and support the formation of sustainable business networks in 12 rural communities across East Sussex over the lifespan of the programme, each run and led by local people, for the benefit of businesses in their community.

These groups will provide networking opportunities, identify local business issues and potential responses to them and as well as providing a conduit through which business advice and support requirements can be identified and responded to.

How will it work?

To launch each network, Action in rural Sussex staff will support locally recruited convenor(s) to deliver initiation events for local business people to attend. These will focus on identifying the issues affecting businesses in the community and exploring with them how they may be responded to. Once established, these networks will then be run and operated by the groups themselves.

A key element of the programme is the business support being offered by the Let’s Do Business Group to participants of the networks. The sessions will provide free and flexible business advice to groups or individual businesses in each community on a variety of themes, including the offer of up to 12 hours of comprehensive tailored support for individual businesses.

What next?

Action in rural Sussex are keen to engage with people running businesses of all types and sizes in the rural parts of East Sussex who would be interested in initiating or participating in a grassroots network of this type and who are willing to work in partnership with us to launch and operate these groups.

If you are interested in participating, or would like to know more about what is currently being delivered, then please contact us for further details.

Contact Us

Tel: (01273) 473422 Email: businessnetworks@ruralsussex.org.uk