| The Dundee Sirolli Steering Group had only three weeks to find £50,000 to trigger another £150,000 payment and set up the city’s first Enterprise Facilitation project which helps entrepreneurs launch their own companies.
Today, the group revealed it had reached that goal and is now waiting confirmation the bid has met all the organisers’ criteria. Once this is confirmed, it will then begin the process of recruiting the voluntary panel and a facilitator for the area.
Anne Rendall, spokesperson for the group, said, “Dundonians have always had the ability to pull off remarkable feats when the chips are down and we want to say a big thank you to everyone who has rallied round and sent donations and support.”
Contributions have come from a range of sources, including a Hilltown resident who pledged £10 a month for the duration of the 30-month project, a cash donation from Wood Group and public sector agencies such as Dundee City Council and Scottish Enterprise Tayside.
Support in kind has also been offered by local firms, such as hardware from Vision Sound and Light, legal advice from Muir Myles Laverty, and photographic services by On-Sight Photography.
Although the initiative has come after the announcement of losses at Tesco and NCR, it is not confined to these places.
Scottish Enterprise Tayside operations director Jill Farrell said, “This is an amazing achievement and shows there’s a real enthusiasm in Dundee to get the project off the ground.”
Councillor Joe Morrow said, “This model has been successfully used in many other countries, and I hope we will see it working here in Dundee.” |
