Midlands
DOING BUSINESS 63
Midlands
East Midlands Development Agency
East Midlands Development Agency( emda) is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England, set up to bring a regional focus to economic development. It provides business support and investment, employment, learning and skills, funding and information relating to sustainable development, international trade and inward investment, and tourism and culture. emda Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham, NG2 4LA Tel: 0115 988 8300 Email: info @ emd. org. uk www. emda. org. uk
East Midlands Incubation Network
EMIN is a network of business incubators providing business and technical assistance to start-up companies in the East Midlands. It works closely with other businesses such as InvoRed, Connect Midlands and emda, and provides potential investment opportunities. It also offers training in sales, marketing and accounting. East Midlands Incubation Network( EMIN) The Innovation Centre, 49 Oxford Street, Leicester LE1 5XY Tel: 0116 257 7952 Website: www. emincubation. co. uk
Best Network
Best Network helps East Midlands businesses work towards implementing an Environmental Management System in line with BS8555 & ISO 14001. Tel: 0115 848 3050 Email: enquiries @ best-network. co. uk
WEST MIDLANDS Advantage West Midlands
Advantage West Midlands is the Regional Development Agency( RDA) for the West Midlands, established to transform the English regions through sustainable economic development. It supports new and existing businesses and is advised by the Minority Ethnic Business Forum on how to improve its engagement with ethnic minority businesses. It has played a key role in shaping Business Link West Midlands to make it more relevant and accessible to minority ethnic businesses. Advantage West Midlands 3 Priestley Wharf, Holt Street, Aston Science Park Birmingham B7 4BN Tel: 0121 380 3500 Fax: 0121 380 3501 Website: www. advantagewm. co. uk
West Midlands Minority Ethnic Business Forum
The West Midlands Minority Ethnic Business Forum is a business-led independent advisory body to Advantage
West Midlands, the regional development agency, the Government Office for the West Midlands and their public, private and third sector partners in economic regeneration. Its aims are to identify and promote the business needs and opportunities of minority ethnic owned and managed enterprises in order that they can contribute to the overall economic well-being of the region. Tel: 0121 380 3500 Email: monicacoke @ advantagewm. co. uk Website: www. minority4business. co. uk
Connect Midlands
See Connect Midlands – East Office for information about Connect Midlands. Connect Midlands – West Office University of Warwick, The Venture Centre Sir William Lyons Road, Coventry, CV4 7EZ Tel: 024 7632 3320 Website: www. connectmidlands. org
2wm
2wm is a regional b2b community which was developed as a key gateway into the West Midlands. It provides links to business support programmes, regional search facilities, land and property searches, jobs, grants, news and events. Registration is free. Its aim is to connect likeminded businesses together in specific industry sectors providing them with a platform to access relevant business support and online advisory services. It was developed in partnership with the Regional Development Agency( Advantage West Midlands), BT, Coventry University and the European Commission. Contact 2wm via the‘ Contact Us’ link on the website.
West Midlands Woman
West Midlands Woman is delivered by The Women’ s Business Development Agency( WBDA), which provides help, advice, mentoring and training for women wanting to start and grow businesses. All the business advisers at West Midlands Woman are female and can advise on issues such as business planning, sales and marketing, employing staff and financial matters. Tel: 02476 236111Website: www. westmidlandswoman. co. uk
Other useful contacts
Business Link Tel: 0845 600 9 006 www. businesslink. gov. uk 3b – Black Business in Birmingham Tel: 0121 523 1820 Email: info @ 3b. org. uk Website: www. 3b. org. uk Birmingham Asian Business Association Tel: 0121 693 3101 Email: baba @ powernet. co. uk www. babasupport. co. uk
ISSUE SIX 2008 engage | uk