Enterprise

GrowBiz provides a community-based enterprise support service in rural Perthshire.

Until recently, it worked mainly in the Eastern and Highland areas. Now, in partnership with Business Gateway, Perthshire Chamber and PKAVS, and with funding support from Rural Perth & Kinross LEADER, the service is available across Perthshire.

The Consumer Futures Unit (CFU) of Citizens Advice Scotland held a 'Rural Futures' conference on 1 February 2017.

The event took place in Edinburgh. A keynote speech was delivered by the Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity Fergus Ewing, in which he addressed the main conference themes of fuel poverty, water supply and postal services in rural parts of Scotland.

In a follow up Q&A, delegates posed questions on a variety of subjects including wind farms and digital connectivity.

More than 90 people attended the Lothians Monitor Farm launch meeting on Thursday 9 February 2017.

It is one of nine new Monitor Farms being established in Scotland as part of a joint initiative by QMS and AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds.

The Scottish Monitor Farms programme is funded by £1.25million secured from the Scottish Government and European Union’s Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund.

The 2017-18 Rural Leadership programme is now open for applications.

The programme is aimed at business managers and employees from rural businesses who want to develop their leadership skills and grow their business. It is delivered on behalf of Scottish Enterprise by SAC Consulting.

To date, over 450 people have completed the programme, including farmers, vets, estate managers, tourism managers, and managers from processing and supply businesses.

Ten UK towns, including Whitburn in West Lothian, have been selected for a new domestic ‘twinning’ project undertaken by the Carnegie UK Trust.

The trial is designed to reinvigorate local economies by pairing towns with others within the UK facing similar challenges. The idea is that over the coming 18 months the towns will build their connections, receive support, and devise a twinning action plan to access funding to kick-start new commercial, voluntary and social enterprise activities - building positive growth for both.

The current funding round for the Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) scheme closes for applications on 5 March 2017.

The FPMC scheme can provide support to suppliers and producers to contribute to the Scottish Government’s overall vision for food and drink in the country, which is to be a Good Food Nation, where it is second nature to produce, buy, serve and eat fresh, healthy food.