Reaching 4 Enterprise
| Dates run: | April 2003 - December 2004 |
| Boroughs occupied: | Nine London boroughs: Brent, Enfield, Greenwich, Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Waltham Forest & Wandsworth |
| Statistics: | 800 participants |
| Funder: | JobCentre Plus / ESF |
| Delivery Partners: | Registered Social Landlords |
The Reaching for Enterprise (R4E) project aimed to build and support the untapped entrepreneurial spirit within London’s low income communities, and help them to consider self-employment alongside direct employment.
For 21 months, five outreach workers worked with the local authorities, London's largest Registered Social Landlords, and London's enterprise agencies, to provide support to residents and to promote entrepreneurship awareness, self-employment training, signposting and mentoring to enable residents to make an informed decision to start their own business.
Anyone could register for support as long as they were unemployed or working part-time. Residents were offered training, business planning, advice, mentoring and access to finance through GLE oneLondon Business Loan Fund.
Nazir Hafezjee, then Deputy Director of Contract Serices of Circle 33 Housing Group's Lewisham base stated:
"Reaching for Enterprise will increase awareness of entrepreneurship and self employment in social housing areas to enable residents to realise their full employment potential."
The results:
- Covering nine London boroughs, the programme saw closer working partnerships between housing associations and London's enterprise agencies to reach some 70,000 residents.
- This project uncovered a large untapped desire for self-employment in low income communities has, and almost none had ever used (or even knew of) London’s small business support services available to them.
- As a result of the R4E project, RSLs formed a working group to take ideas forward and lessons learnt from the R4E model with a view to continue supporting tenants to achieve their enterprise goals.
Download the final evaluation report
Case studies:
The following companies, are case studies of businesses supported through the R4E project:
Our partners:
On the Reaching for Enterprise project, GLE oneLondon partnered with Registered Social Landlords including Family Housing Group, Circle 33 Housing Group, Horizon Housing Group, Metropolitan Housing Trust, Genesis Housing Group, Wandsworth Council, Hyde Housing, Notting Hill Housing.
The project was funded by JobCentre Plus under the European Social Fund.
Contact us:
For more information about the Reaching 4 Enterprise project, please contact Irene on irene.j@gle.co.uk
