HELPING rural business to grow will be the subject of the next Motivation South West Business Breakfast, being held at 7.45am on Wednesday, May 4, at Okehampton Conservative Club. Guest speaker will be Robin Makeig-Jones, the programme manager of Devon Renaissance. Devon Renaissance is an innovative partnership consisting of private and public sector organisations who have worked closely together to develop a programme of action to improve the performance of rural businesses based in the North Devon, Torridge, South Hams and West Devon areas. It has devised a three-year programme to fund business development projects in this area, with an anticipated total cost of £8-million. With the conclusion of an agreement for £2.4-million funding from the SWRDA the partnership is now open for business. The programme is run from Okehampton by a team of four led by Robin, who has experience of running previous business funding schemes in Devon. He said: ?We want to ensure Devon Renaissance helps rural businesses grow. ?We want to source good ideas where we can spread the benefits across the whole area and help Devon businesses compete effectively. ?We are also keen to improve the quality and impact of services to the rural areas and will be seeking to understand and overcome existing barriers. ?It is important that everyone understands that Devon Renaissance is not just another funding stream, we want to do things differently and, in partnership, identify significant projects that will make a material difference to the problems faced by communities living in dispersed rural areas.? The breakfast costs £10, to book a space or for more information contact Motivation South West on 01837 659233.
