Alcester businesswomen takes lead of rural enterprise support hub
RURAL industries operating in Alcester, Bidford and Studley – and various nearby villages and hamlets within Warwickshire – have been making use of a new facility aimed at helping them boost their business know-how.
The Rural Enterprise Hub at Alcester’s Minerva Mill Innovation Centre was set up specifically to give free guidance and support to businesses in the countryside, especially to farmers.
The hub was established last September by Alcester Town Council and Minerva Mill as a beneficiary of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, an initiative started by the previous government as part of the levelling-up agenda. So far the fund has allocated £2.6 billion throughout the country for schemes to help local enterprises improve their business acumen.
Alcester’s Rural Enterprise Hub is aptly based in a former factory that has been a powerhouse of the local economy for over a century, making needles, springs, ironing boards, car parts and many other products.
The project was initially started for a period of six months. It was then extended to July this year and this month is hoping to be extended again. The person appointed to run it as the rural enterprise development officer is Vicky Griffith, a 53-year-old businesswoman who was born and bred in Alcester.
Vicky, whose previous job was as a project manager for a software firm based in Hampshire, told the Herald this week: “We provide one-to-one mentorship, businesses planning and advice and face-to-face support for small and medium-sized businesses, start-ups and sole traders – all types of businesses.”
So far 42 businesses had sought the help of the hub and Vicky is keen to make sure that as many people as possible are aware of the service the facility provides.
She said she tries to get people from different businesses to work together (not a practice they would normally be used to) in order to share experience and ideas and to learn from each other.
“We have monthly meetings and pop-up sessions at the café here,” she said. “I advertise the fact that we’re here between 9.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on a certain day every month so that people can come along with a chat with us. I’m here all the time and I hold events as well.”
She added: “We can get a lot of people starting up their own businesses. It could be anything from art classes to innovations and people with skills who want to go out on their own.”
The service even extends to rural solicitors. One young woman working for a local legal firm was the recipient of a £750 grant towards training of her choice to learn a new aspect of her job.
Vicky has even taken advantage of the hub’s services to delve into the complexities of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Asked what she made of it, she said: “I’m still in the early stages, but it’s like having an assistant and you need to tell the assistant what to do and how to do it. Technology is changing all the time, but AI is going to be the future. Don’t get me wrong – give me a human interaction any day above AI!”
One of the hub’s main objectives is to reach out to the farming community, which is not always easy because of the nature of agricultural work. “They work so hard, to a grand old age, and don’t reach out for support,” she said.
But Vicky’s determination to bring farming within her purview has even extended to visiting Stoneleigh to meet farmers. And there was a lecture recently at Minerva Mill on the implications for farmers of the autumn Budget.
“The challenge is making farms realise there is help and advice for them if they need it,” she said.. And it’s pretty obvious that this applies to all kinds of businesses – not just farms.
