23 Businesses To Fast Track With Accelerator Programme
24th January 2023
Twenty-three businesses from the Highlands and Islands have started the latest edition of a four-month programme aimed at putting them on the fast track to success.
Pathfinder Accelerator is led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). The programme provides fast-track training and mentoring for entrepreneurs looking to build a company or launch a new product.
The twelfth group to start on the programme since it began in 2018 met at the launch day at An Lòchran, Inverness Campus on 12 January.
The programme provides businesses at all stages in their development the opportunity to test a new product or process to ensure its fit for the market. Delivered mostly online, it combines weekly workshops sessions, masterclasses and one-to-one coaching sessions. The aim is to build a new company, or launch a new product, in a shorter space of time with substantially less money.
The programme forms part of the Northern Innovation Hub, which is led by HIE and funded by the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal partnership, with £11m from UK Government.
Although originally targeted at SMEs in the Highland Council area, the Pathfinder Accelerator programme has been extended for anyone interested across the whole of the Highlands and Islands area through additional funding from HIE.
The programme will be delivered online by training specialists Skillfluence Ltd who have developed and designed a new course structure including an e-learning platform to make the course more accessible.
Skillfluence Ltd will partner with Investing Women Angels to provide business advice and support to the participants. They will provide coaching and mentoring as well as help develop networking, sourcing, funding, and planning for future growth.
Places are available on future Pathfinder Accelerator programmes for businesses, social enterprises, charities and entrepreneurs from across the Highlands and Islands. The next intake will be March 2023, with applications open now.
Entrepreneurs are encouraged have a product or service relating to life sciences, IT, healthcare, engineering or aquaculture. Those from different sectors can apply including those with a sustainability focus or if their concentrating on efficiencies to reduce the cost of doing business.
Catriona Ramsay, development manager at HIE, said: "It's fantastic to welcome another group of businesses to Pathfinder Accelerator. Together with our partners Skillfluence and Investing Womens Angels, we are excited to continue the successful programmes and support more businesses to move forward with their ideas and succeed."
UK Government Minister for Scotland Malcolm Offord said, "The Pathfinder Accelerator programme has already seen a number of businesses benefit from the training and mentorship it has provided.
"The expansion of the programme, within the Highlands and Islands, offers more people the opportunity to develop their business ideas and I encourage future entrepreneurs to take the first steps and apply.
"The UK Government is investing £11 million in the Northern Innovation Hub and levelling up communities across Scotland with more than £2 billion. www.hie.co.uk/pathfinder
Related Businesses
Related Articles
A programme of remedial works to bring Scotland's only funicular railway back into service at Cairngorm Mountain is entering a new phase during week beginning Monday 15 April. With the snowsports season now over, multiple teams from contractor Balfour Beatty, appointed by Cairngorm Estate owner Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), are set to be deployed on the mountainside.
The five-year agreement between Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will also play a major role in contributing to regional economic growth. The signing of the agreement, by Professor Wayne Powell, Principal and Chief Executive of SRUC, and HIE Chief Executive Stuart Black, follows the official opening of SRUC's Rural and Veterinary Innovation Centre (RAVIC), a valued addition to SRUC’s School of Veterinary Medicine, in Inverness by HRH the Princess Royal.
Deerness Distillery Ltd has secured £246,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for the £820,000 development. Construction is underway at the distillery, which was founded by husband-and-wife team Stuart and Adelle Brown.
The Co-Chairs of the Inverness Castle Delivery Group, Fergus Ewing MSP and Cllr Ian Brown, are delighted to announce the award of £30,000 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in support of framing the 57 panels that will form the Tapestry of the Highlands and Islands. This financial commitment from HIE has contributed significantly to the preservation of the 57 panels created by communities across the Highlands and Islands, of which 32 will be included in the first exhibition as part of the Inverness Castle Experience.
Sumitomo Electric UK Power Cables Ltd plans to establish major operations in the region, supplying high voltage cables to the growing offshore wind energy sector. A funding package has been agreed to secure an estimated £350m in inward investment for Scotland, based in the Highlands.
As part of the study, businesses, community groups and social enterprises with future land or property plans are encouraged to complete a short survey by 22 March 2024. Whether it's interest in land for sale or space to lease, HIE is keen to hear from organisations already based in the region as well as from those that are considering locating a business to the area.
L&M Engineering has secured a grant of £58,914 from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) for the development, which is set to boost business turnover by £1.2m and create two jobs over the next three years. The company is diversifying its operations to cater for additional aquaculture markets.
Most businesses in the Highlands and Islands consider their links with the local community as either equal to or more important than their profitable growth. This is one of the key findings of the most recent rural business survey commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in partnership with South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE).
Dynamic business support programme, IMPACT30, is aimed at nurturing and empowering the next generation of innovative leaders. The fully funded programme is for people aged under 35 in a young enterprise and in a key decision-making role.
A project to increase electricity supply and reduce emissions on a west coast island has been awarded more than £25,000 by HIE. The HIE funding is being used to replace and upgrade high voltage transformers and other associated equipment to enable a major upgrade of the renewable energy supply on the Isle of Muck.