Help at hand for businesses in Swindon
Helping businesses access the finance and business support they need is the focus of a support session with local firms today [Friday 17 August]. Hosted by local MPs Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson, mentoring – part of an initiative of the major banks and the British Bankers’ Association - met Swindon’s businessmen and women to set out how this can help enterprises prosper and promote and how mentoring can help small businesses meet their goals.
The surgery was addressed by:
- Tim Rivett [BBA] who set out the initiatives being run across the country;
- Andy Copp [Business Mentor South West (BMSW)] who highlighted the role mentoring plays in early business success; and
- Two bank mentors who - as part of the free bank mentor programme - talked about their experiences and how they can help.
The formal presentations were followed by an open roundtable session so businesses could ask questions.
Speaking for the mentoring initiative Tim Rivett said:
“Mentors have been proven to make the key difference between start ups which flourish and those which fail. Behind many successful businesses there is an impartial friend who can help provide the support firms need to take them on to the next level. Mentoring - part of a wider initiative from the high street banks and the British Bankers’ Association aimed at helping businesses meet their goals - is providing access to free banking mentors at the MentorsMe website. Anyone wanting to know more has only to get in touch or come along to talk to us when we are in Swindon on Friday.”
Notes for editors
- Further information is available from Tim [tim.rivett@bba.org.uk].
- Mentoring is an initiative of the major high street banks and the British Bankers’ Association. It aims to connect companies with mentoring organisations that can support and guide their growth. It is part of banks’ support for small and medium sized enterprises of which more can be found at: