East Midlands gets a digital boost for the economy

A pioneering project to enhance the digital skills of small to medium sized businesses across the East Midlands has provided support to more than 1,300 businesses in two years and created millions of pounds worth of economic benefits.
Digital boost for the East Midlands.Digital boost for the East Midlands.
Digital boost for the East Midlands.

The East Midlands Chamber of Commerce revealed an independent assessment of the eBusiness Club project’s delivery of the Government’s Transformational ICT2 scheme helped create more than 150 new jobs and generated £54m of economic benefits within two years.

It also concluded that for every £1 of public money spent on the programme, an additional £19 of value was generated. The project has supported a total of 1,660 individuals, representing 1,337 businesses, with at least six hours’ worth of support.

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The eBusiness Club, which is a specialist department of East Midlands Chamber, also awarded £722,918 grant funding to 106 businesses during the second phase of the scheme between October 2013 and September 2015.

It delivered 467 workshops and events, including a major regional digital conference and expo. The success of the scheme will be celebrated at the 2015 East Midlands Digital Technology Conference and Expo, at Leicester Tigers’ Welford Road Stadium, on Thursday, November 5.

Chamber Deputy Chief Executive Diane Simpson said: “The results of this evaluation of the second phase of the programme were fantastic.”