Enterprise Nation opens business growth hub in Barnsley’s Digital Media Centre

Enterprise Nation, the national small business network, has opened a business growth hub for the north as part of its plans to offer support to early stage entrepreneurs.

The network, with a growing 70K-strong membership has opened its flagship northern growth hub in the Digital Media Centre in County Way, Barnsley, following on from the success of its recent Barnsley-based e-commerce accelerator Click.

The Enterprise Nation Hub will offer hundreds of entrepreneurs the opportunity to find a mentor, take part in a series of enterprise support projects, workshops and events from guest entrepreneurs, weekly meet-ups and networking as well as the online webinars and digital support the network already delivers.

The Barnsley hub is in partnership with Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council Council’s Digital Media Centre, a landmark building with a community of creative and digital businesses.

Tracey Johnson of Enterprising Barnsley, the council’s business support team, said: “Enterprise Nation delivers an astonishing amount of online and offline support to early stage entrepreneurs and has already helped us achieve strong results through delivery of our recent e-commerce programme Click.

“By opening a dedicated space in the Digital Media Centre, we expect to see Enterprise Nation attracting even more entrepreneurs for growth advice, mentoring and events that will help us to build a sustainable and thriving entrepreneurial economy in Yorkshire.”

The Barnsley hub is part of the network’s national expansion plans, which has already seen the creation of 12 regional enterprise champions, five roving pop-up business advice clinics and the announcement of the Festival of Female Entrepreneurs in the South West.

The hub will also be the headquarters for the roll out of the £67k Click South Yorkshire e-commerce programme led by the Digital Media Centre and funded by the Government Equalities Office’s Women and Broadband initiative, which will be overseen by Enterprise Nation’s Ben Hawley.

Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, added: “It’s a well-established fact that entrepreneurs that have access to support do better than those that don’t. We want to help entrepreneurs from all over the UK to build profitability whilst making the most of a skill or passion. These are people looking for others they can learn from, connect with, collaborate with and outsource to.

“Over the coming years we’ll see more, not less people working in this way - choosing a life of enterprise and being their own boss. We need to be ready for that and deliver the advice and support they need to succeed.”

The network has already delivered £6m worth of support to British-based entrepreneurs through over a hundred nationwide events so far this year, which have seen it partner with global tech brands Facebook, Microsoft and Constant Contact; its adviser marketplace, its massive StartUp 2015 event, its mentoring at Click Barnsley and free expert consultation calls.