We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded over £16,000 from Cumbria Community Foundation to help young people in West Cumbria develop their own business.
The funding includes £10,000 from the Beverley Trust Fund and £6,976 from the Live the Dream Fund and will support twenty 16 – 25 year olds, living in the Allerdale and Copeland areas, to access the online training programme and discover how to start their own business.
Annalee Holliday, Grants & Donor Services Officer at Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “It’s thanks to our fundholders and supporters that we are able to provide financial support charitable organisations like TEGVirtual. The past year has been particularly difficult for young people, with many seeing their plans for the future turned upside down. This funding will give them an opportunity to overcome some of the difficulties they might be facing right now by building confidence and gaining new skills that will stand them in good stead as they become young adults, while inspiring a new generation of young entrepreneurs.”
Those young people who gain a funded place on the course will learn about idea validation, accounting, marketing, sales, management, leadership and business development. They will be encouraged to think about starting their own business with the support of the TEGvirtual team and also have lifetime access to support through the peer-to-peer network.
The unique thing about TEGvirtual is that it is not just a grant to get people started or give a finite amount of support or backing. This is a lifetime support programme to ensure people set up a business in the right way and continue to grow and make it a success.
The impact of COVID19 is real and a worrying time for young people as exams are cancelled places at university in the balance and competition for jobs or apprenticeships on the rise. We want to show them that there is an alternative and that running a business could be for them. We want to inspire future entrepreneurs giving them hope for the future and helping the local Cumbrian economy! We are so grateful to have received this funding and know it will have a huge impact on those twenty young people’s lives.
TEGvirtual is for all aspiring entrepreneurs not just young people and we are applying for additional pots of funding to support other people. We want to help those who are unemployed, ex-services, ex-offenders and people affected by COVID-19 who may have sadly lost their jobs. We want to help as many people as we can start and grow their own business so are keen to access more funding to free up more places on the programme.
If you are aged 16-25, live in the Allerdale or Copeland area and have a business idea, we would like to hear from you, please call 0333 360 5582 or email office@teguk.co.uk
