Published at 11:59, Thursday, 01 November 2012

A PANEL of Cumbrian business experts is preparing to give budding entrepreneurs the benefit of their experience.

Executives from a string of leading county firms have agreed to act as judges in the Local Business Accelerators (LBA) scheme, which offers £15m of free advertising and mentoring to promising young enterprises.

The Whitehaven News is backing the drive, led nationally by the Newspaper Society.

Last week Bill Dobie, of Dobies Group, and Andy Hooper, of Westlakes Engineering, were announced as mentors and judges in the initiative. Now experts from the University of Cumbria and accountancy firm Armstrong Watson, which are sponsoring the campaign, have joined the line-up.

John Berry, project manager for Knowledge Action Network at the University of Cumbria, will join the team for a second year.

Mr Berry manages the business support programme helping companies to become more innovative in their field of work.

Mr Berry said: “Small businesses are the life-blood of our economy, particularly in Cumbria.

“Local Business Accelerators is a great opportunity for those taking their first steps in business to raise their profile and learn from others who have been through the challenging early days.

“I’m looking forward to hearing about the innovative businesses that have seen a gap in the market and taken the initiative to solve it.”

Richard Askew, commercial director for Armstrong Watson, is a new addition to the panel.

He has been with the firm for six years and is tasked with developing new links and opportunities between local businesses and the accountancy and advice firm.

Mr Askew is based in the company’s new West Cumbrian office at Lillyhall Business Centre.

He said: “The scheme is a fantastic opportunity for local businesses to showcase and develop the products and services they provide, in a format which will also give them great experience and an opportunity to develop their own skills.

“The growth of such businesses is integral to the growth of our economy and initiatives like this can only help in their pursuit of their goals.”

Businesses have until November 16 to enter and must be between one and five years old.

Six local winners will each benefit from professional mentoring and £10,000 of free advertising in this newspaper and its sister publications, the News & Star, Times & Star and The Cumberland News.

To enter, visit www.accelerateme.co.uk.

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk