In responding to a business support newsletter recently circulated by Enterprise4All, Blackburn based businesswoman Fatima Patel recently got all the help she was looking for, plus the unexpected bonus of winning a brand new iPad2.
The newsletter alerted local entrepreneurs to the free help available to North West based SMEs through various programmes including the Think Food & Drink project. Fatima’s company is Tempting Delights, which produces hand-made cakes for weddings and other occasions, so she took the opportunity to ask for more details of the assistance on offer.
Think Food & Drink is part of Food Northwest’s Food & Drink Growth programme, which is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Designed to help eligible SMEs to explore new opportunities in sections of the market that they may not previously have considered, it provides support through a combination of business diagnostic reviews, masterclasses and the chance to exhibit at regional food festivals and similar events.
This support has proved very beneficial, as Fatima herself reports: “I’m very grateful to everyone at Enterprise4All for supporting me through the Think Food & Drink project,” she said. “It has been really helpful and very much appreciated on my journey as a female entrepreneur.”
All respondents to the newsletter were entered in a free draw and Fatima’s name was pulled out of the hat as the winner of the first prize.
“I was delighted at winning the iPad2,” says Fatima. “It was a huge surprise and I'm absolutely lost for words!”
The prize was presented by Enterprise4All Financial Controller Mark Drage.
“We’re always pleased to be able to help growing businesses in Lancashire,” said Mark. “Think Food & Drink is just one of a number of very effective business support projects that we’re delivering across the county and I’m sure that we’ll continue to be able to help Fatima as she develops her business over the coming months and years.”
