27 May 2022
Business & IP Centre Local Launch - Grimsby Central Library
Entrepreneurs and businesses in North East Lincolnshire celebrate the launch of their new Business & IP Centre local.
THE Business & IP Centre (BIPC) in Grimsby Central Library has officially opened its doors, providing free support to new and aspiring entrepreneurs in North East Lincolnshire to grow, run and scale their businesses.
For the past year, Lincs Inspire Library Services have been busy preparing their Centre, which offers free access to exclusive business and intellectual property information and provides networking events, business workshops and one-to-one expertise.
The Grimsby BIPC local is part of a major expansion of the British Library’s Business & IP Centres and their successful network of library based BIPCs, which has expanded to 100 regional and local libraries across England, thanks to £13million in central government funding.
Derek O’Connell, Libraries Development Manager, Lincs Inspire, said: “Grimsby Central Library is right in the town centre and is home to our existing business information service, so ideally located to support new and interesting business opportunities.
“We jumped at the chance to work with the British Library and thanks to this funding we’ve been able to expand and modernise our offer, making a wide range of resources accessible to anyone wanting to turn a bright idea into action.”
The new local Centre in Grimsby is part of the Business & IP Centre Humber Partnership, with its regional headquarters located in Hull. Other local Centres are in Beverley Library, Bridlington Central Library and Goole Library, all providing a strong and connected network of business information and support.
Grimsby BIPC local is open to aspiring entrepreneurs, start-ups and more established SMEs. Customers can access:
- Free and low-cost access to £5 million worth of business intelligence
- Business publications - both in branch and online
- One-to-ones, workshops and networking events
- Intellectual property (IP) support
Anderlea Butters owns her own consultancy business and provides marketing support services to the local business community. Attending the launch event, Anderlea said: “The BIPC allows local entrepreneurs and business owners to come together to learn, network and access free advice and information in commercialising a business idea.
“The ability to access GDPR-compliant data and insights helps personalise marketing strategies for the highest possible return on investment, thus ensuring businesses are connecting with their target audience with the right message, at the right time.
“The wealth of key information available to access from a central hub will prove to be invaluable to the local business network.”
For more information about the services available at North East Lincolnshire’s BIPC visit www.lincsinspire.com/bipc
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Caption 1 - ribbon cutting. Rob Garland, Development Officer, and Derek O'Connell, Development Manager, from Lincs Inspire Libraries is joined by Kim Rotham, Hull BIPC Business and Intellectual Property Specialist.
Caption 2 - Partners, stakeholders, businesses and entrepreneurs celebrate the launch of the Business & IP Centre (BIPC) in Grimsby Central Library.
Contact Information
Amy Smith
amy.smith@lincsinspire.com
Notes to editors
Business & IP Centres can open the path to entrepreneurship for anyone with a business idea, regardless of their background. Consistently, over half of those who use a BIPC to set up a business are women and a third are from under-represented ethnic backgrounds. More than triple the national averages for business ownership in the UK, this diverse user base speaks to the accessibility and community-based ethos of public library-based support. The Network has a strong track record of supporting local economies, and in 2019 an independent economic evaluation showed the BIPC was creating £6.95 of public value for every £1 invested, and in the three years to 2019 supported the creation of 12,288 new businesses, 55% of which were started by female entrepreneurs and some 31% by BAME entrepreneurs.
The British Library
We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.
We have millions of books, and much more besides. Our London and Yorkshire sites hold collections ranging from newspapers and maps to sound recordings, patents, academic journals, as well as a copy of every UK domain website and blog. Our public spaces are a place to research, to meet friends, to start up a new business or simply to get inspired by visiting our galleries and events. We work with partners and libraries across the UK and the world to make sure that as many people as possible have the chance to use and explore our collections, events and expertise. And we’re always open online, along with more and more of our digitised collection.
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