Invest in West Lothian - December Newsletter
Hello and welcome to the December edition of the Invest in West Lothian newsletter! In our newsletter, we will be sharing the latest news stories, funding opportunities, and events for businesses in West Lothian.
Here at Invest in West Lothian, we are committed to helping businesses in West Lothian grow by providing confidential and impartial advice, highlighting funding opportunities, and sharing helpful resources. We can help new and established businesses that are currently based in West Lothian, or are looking to relocate to the area. You can learn more about the support we offer by visiting www.investinwestlothian.com .
Celebrating Good News Stories in West Lothian
Training and Upskilling Support Has Helped Local Business Grease Monkey Empower its Team and Achieve its Growth Goals
Local business Grease Monkey, which designs, creates, operates, and maintains excellent sustainable travel solutions, has experienced impressive growth in recent years. To ensure the team was fully equipped to deal with this growth, the business utilised our Expert Help Programme, which is part-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Through this, Grease Monkey was able to book a 1:1 Procurement Surgery Session with Mandy Millar, who provided guidance on how to put together strong applications and successfully bid for tenders. They also booked a 1:1 Marketing and Branding Surgery Session with Michelle Brown, who provided helpful tips on how to improve marketing activity and increase the public's awareness of Grease Monkey.
Additionally, they also received funding from our Digital Development Grant, which is part-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This allowed them to purchase IT equipment that increased efficiency and productivity.
You can read the full story here.
Funding for Businesses in West Lothian
The Invest in West Lothian team have extensive experience of preparing funding packages for local businesses of all sizes. Each month, we will highlight a new funding opportunity that is currently available to eligible businesses in the area.
New Funding Webinar
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our New Funding Webinar 2024 recently!
During the webinar, our Growth Advisers highlighted exciting funding opportunities that are available to help eligible West Lothian businesses with:
- Growing their team
- Upskilling and training
- Improving sustainability
- And more!
Don’t worry if you couldn’t make it, you can catch up with the recording here.
You can learn more about the business funding currently available here. Please note that any projects funded must be completed by the end of February 2025.
Upcoming Events
We are delighted to be hosting the following free events in January 2025:
Finance for the Non-Financial
This workshop is perfect for non-financial business owners and managers that want to increase their understanding of the use of accounting and finance in the business context. By the end of the programme, you will be able to communicate effectively and confidently on financial matters within your organisation. This is taking place on Wednesday, the 15th of January, from 9:30am – 3:30pm, at the Scottish Procurement Alliance Partnership Hub in Livingston.
1:1 Procurement Surgery Sessions
There is limited availability remaining on Tuesday, the 28th of January, for a free, 1:1 virtual surgery session with procurement expert Mandy Millar from Intend Business Development Ltd. These sessions have been created to help West Lothian business owners improve their understanding of the procurement process and improve their success rate with tender bids. Sessions last 1-hour and take place virtually.
To learn more and book your free space at any of our events, please click here.
Thank You!
Thank you for reading this month’s newsletter and for all of your support over the last year. 2024 has been a great year for us here at Invest in West Lothian, with highlights including: launching new funding opportunities, our return to in person events, and of course, getting to support so many fantastic local businesses.
2025 is already shaping up to be an exciting year with lots to look forward to. We are delighted to have been awarded funding from the Scottish Government’s Entrepreneurial Education Pathways Fund, which will allow us to host our popular Women in Entrepreneurship training programmes, alongside our existing calendar of exciting events. Make sure you are following along to stay up to date with the latest news and opportunities!