Community enterprise project E3 have announced 50 grants of up to £300 are available as part of The Give It A Go programme, which will enable young people to test the market with a business.

Working closely with South Lanarkshire Council, the E3 project aims to engage, inspire and support South Lanarkshire people and businesses in every corner of the council region as part of the UK Community Renewal Fund (CRF).

As well as funding, Give It A Go includes free digital training and expert one to one mentorship to provide support and advice throughout the testing experience.

Cat Ward, Programmes Manager for Elevator UK, highlights the benefits of Give it a Go: “I suppose one of the main benefits is the money, as we have grants of up to £300 that we can give out. But we’ve also got a lot of support there.

“We know it’s scary when you’ve got an idea but you’re not sure whether or not it’s going to work, so along with the grant you will have the support of your E3 team and you will also be assigned your own mentor. That mentor is someone who’s been in business before, has done it, has made the mistakes, got the t-shirt and is there to give you the benefit of their experience.

“They’ll give you as much assistance as you need and reassurance that you’re on the right track, and if you’re not on the right track they’ll help you get back to that place that you need to be.”

The Give it a Go programme aims to help young people test a new business idea before starting up to discover if there is already a consumer demand, or if the business needs to adapt to met the meets of the consumer.

Cat continued: “Any 18-30 year old who is interested in setting up their own business, perhaps they’ve got a hobby or an interest that they think could become a business but don’t know where to get started: this is their chance to dip their toes in the water and test the market.”

Applications are now open but spaces are limited and there is a closing date of 31 May 2020.

For more information, follow E3 on Facebook or Instagram, or visit their website for more information of support on offer.