100 partners for public sector business support website

A unique website that brings together all public sector support available to businesses in Scotland in one place has reached a significant milestone.

FindBusinessSupport.Gov.Scot today announced that Women’s Enterprise Scotland had become its 100th partner via its Women’s Business Centre, joining local authorities, sector specific agencies, universities and other public bodies on the website.

Women’s Enterprise Scotland is a not-for-profit community interest company which has been championing women-led and women-owned businesses since 2011.

Driven by Scotland’s economic development and skills agencies, including Scottish Enterprise, Find Business Support allows businesses of all sizes to browse Scotland’s public sector support options in one place, making it easier for firms to find the information, advice and support they need, when they need it.

Since its launch in 2019, more than 1,500,000 customers have visited Find Business Support and almost 900,000 customers have been referred to partner websites to access support.  More than 1,000 support services have been available on Find Business Support since its launch.

Elaine Morrison, Head of Business Support Partnership at Scottish Enterprise, said: “To achieve 100 partners on Find Business Support is a terrific milestone and I would like to thank all the organisations, including Women’s Enterprise Scotland, who have joined us on this partnership-led initiative.

“The aim of Find Business Support is clear: to allow businesses in Scotland access public sector business support as easily as possible.  We are pleased with the levels of engagement on Find Business Support so far, but we will continue to make enhancements to the website to make the breadth of support available to businesses even clearer.

“Scottish Enterprise is committed to working with other public sector partners to support businesses achieve their growth ambitions and we will fully utilise all channels we have access to, including the Find Business Support website, to amplify what assistance is available as widely as possible.”

Find Business Support is delivered by the Business Support Partnership, a joint initiative consisting of Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and Business Gateway, as well as Scotland’s local authorities. 

It was created at the request of the Scottish Government to provide more streamlined, effective support to help businesses and also includes sector specific agencies Creative Scotland and VisitScotland.

Support on Find Business Support includes advice, funding, networking opportunities, training and webinars.  The selection changes daily as new services are launched, and out-of-date services unpublished.

Bronwen Thomas, Chief Operating Officer at Women’s Enterprise Scotland said: “We are delighted that Women’s Enterprise Scotland has become Find Business Support’s 100th partner.

“Since we launched the Women’s Business Centre in 2020, our mission has been to provide free, needs based, gender specific business support to women from start-up through to growth stages of their business journey.  If we are to close the gender gap in enterprise participation, we need to help women unlock their economic potential by giving them the tools they need to start up in business and thrive.

“Being part of Find Business Support allows us to broaden our reach even further by allowing even more women to access the tools which the Women’s Business Centre provides.”

An organisation that has found Find Business Support to be of value is Perth & Kinross Council, which has been a partner since March 2022.

Councillor Andrew Parrott, Convener of Perth & Kinross Council’s Environment, Infrastructure and Economic Development Committee, said: “In Perth and Kinross, we operate a number of schemes to help businesses grow from our Green Recovery Capital Development Grants to our Micro Enterprise Fund.

“We want to make it easy for businesses to access support when it is available, locally and nationally. The Find Business Support website is a great one-stop shop for people to see what help they may be eligible for and how to apply.”

To learn more about Find Business Support, businesses should visit the website and sign-up to the free weekly e-newsletter, which includes the latest updates on public sector support for businesses in Scotland.