Business Gateway Fife Key Achievements for 2020 & 2021

THE Board of Business Gateway Fife has been presented with the 20/21 figures for the delivery of its core activities in a pandemic year where businesses have faced the most challenging, testing and uncertain times.

During the year, a massive £72.2 million of Scottish Government COVID funding was processed and administered by the Business Gateway Fife and Fife Council Economic Development teams with 7,116 applications received.

Business Gateway Fife was able to support 519 new business start-ups with a £19.9 million projected turnover, creating 676 new jobs. In addition, a further 113 jobs were created through Financial Support to Business grants. This was achieved in an environment where many Fife businesses accessed UK Government furlough support for their staff whilst redesigning and adapting their business models to pivot to new ways of working and customer requirements,

Chair of Business Gateway Fife, Mark Jones commented: “In a year like no other, some remarkable figures have emerged showing the mammoth task our Business Gateway and Economic Development teams faced to make sure businesses received the appropriate support and funding promptly. I would like to express my gratitude to them on behalf of the Board for their dedication and hard work and I know they have gone above and beyond to deliver this critical support to Fife’s businesses.”

Other significant highlights were the Business Gateway events and workshops which were all moved online. Although they were delivered remotely due to covid restrictions, the 200 events attracted 1,269 attendees and showed no reduction in attendance through a change in delivery. The extremely popular and valuable Digital Boost programme supported 89 businesses through 1-2-1 support.

Fife’s growing and established businesses did not miss out as 1,257 received assistance with 85 able to kickstart growth projects through accessing Expert Help.

The Supplier Development Programme managed to support 444 businesses by improving their Tendering skills and that 37.9 percent of Fife Council contracts were awarded to local businesses.

Councillor Altany Craik, Convenor for Fife Council’s Economy, Tourism, Strategic Planning and Transportation Committee said: “I am really impressed by some of the figures, especially the immense Covid support grant payments that have been delivered to Fife’s businesses. These are unprecedented times and hopefully many of our businesses will have the ability and the confidence to bounce back from the disruption and trauma that the lockdowns and restrictions have caused.”

Whether thinking of starting a business or looking to grow or sustain an existing business, contact Business Gateway Fife on 01592 858333 for a variety of advice and support or visit our website.