A Castleford data expert has been picked to become part of a national network of voluntary mentors to support Britain’s SMEs as the UK braces for recession, according to small business support platform Enterprise Nation.
Data architect Abhijit Bag, 34, is used to dealing with multinational technical detail at the highest level every day in his job at Tata Consultancy Services. The experienced digital expert has worked all over the world including the US, India and in Europe as well as being based in the UK for the past five years.
But when his wife Sumana set up her own small business in Castleford near Leeds over lockdown, the experience opened his eyes to the incredibly difficult journey entrepreneurs embark on when the start a business from scratch.
Abhijit said: "Like many people over lockdown, I had much more time to think. My wife set up her own business and she was finding every step difficult. There were so many different aspects you needed to understand and very few resources to support you through that time. So, I got involved."
Abhijit's digital knowledge really helped his wife launch GraphAIT Ltd, an artificial intelligence and information technology business, helping her set up her website, linking it to ecommerce, accounting and marketing technology as well as launching social media to support growth.
"It gave me a really good feeling," Abhijit said and he decided to volunteer for the Government's Digital Boost scheme and found himself supporting three or four start-ups with strategic digital advice and support.
He said: "Large multinationals think nothing of investing millions into digital technology, but the smaller businesses I worked with found it difficult to understand that once the website was up and running, it needed to be constantly updated, SEO work, marketing work - and they had no idea about the crucial role data plays in running a business.
"With my support, those businesses went on to build on their initial digital investment and now understand how to grow their business, which made me want to volunteer to support more businesses to grow."
Abhijit is now a trained mentor on the Government's Help to Grow: Management course, supporting firms on the 12-week course that want to focus on digital elements of their business.
The Help to Grow: Management Course offers senior business leaders one-to-one support from an experienced business mentor included in 50 hours of leadership and management training across 12 weeks, with the government covering 90% of the costs involved. Training is delivered via a national network of 56 Business Schools.
Emma Jones, founder of small business support platform Enterprise Nation, part of the consortium of businesses contracted to recruit volunteer mentors for the course, said: “It’s been so incredibly humbling to see high calibre leaders including hundreds of independent business owners, with the human strength and humility to step forward and offer their own time, experience, and knowledge to support the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs.
“The Help to Grow: Management Course online platform will allow businesses to find the perfect match for their business so they can start to put what they have learned into practice.”
A digital platform will use data and weighting technology to pair businesses with mentors based on location, sector, and mentoring support required. Mentors sign up on a voluntary basis and offer a commitment of 10 hours, over 12 weeks, plus time to engage in training offered by the Association of Business Mentors.
Once they have found a mentor that suits their requirements, the Help to Grow: Management Course participant will then use the platform to book in sessions and communicate with each other.
In exchange for offering their time and experience, voluntary Help to Grow: Management Course mentors receive significant value in the form of industry recognised mentor training, access to qualified content, networking opportunities with other mentors, and the possibility to join a national effort aimed at supporting the growth of the UK economy by increasing small businesses’ productivity.
Led by business support group Newable and including Enterprise Nation and the Association of Business Mentors, the consortium has been appointed by the Government to develop a national network of business leaders and experts who will share their skills and experience with firms on the practical management training course.
For those interested in becoming a mentor, sign up here.
