Community Business Bright Sparks competition

Are you based in Merseyside or Greater Manchester? Do you have an inspiring idea for a community business that could change your local area for the better? If so, enter a competition to win support worth £6,000 to develop your business.

In conjunction with the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo, Power To Change are looking for fresh ideas from groups in Greater Manchester and Merseyside that are just getting started and want to make a real positive change in their local community.

Three finalists in each area will be chosen to attend Dragon’s Den style events in Liverpool and Manchester later this year. Supported by Locality, they will pitch their ideas to a panel of experts in a bid to win the prize. These events will bring together great local community businesses to celebrate and showcase their achievements.

The Dragon’s Den panels will choose the winning idea in Merseyside and Greater Manchester and each will be awarded £6,000 worth of expert business development support.

The events celebrating community business and hosting the Dragon’s Den competition will be held at Victoria Warehouse, Manchester on 20 October 2016 and Rum Warehouse, Liverpool on 23 November 2016.

To be eligible to enter the competition, your group must be based in Merseyside or Greater Manchester and able to show that your idea is:
• Based in a specific neighbourhood or place
• Run by or accountable to their local community
• Planning to generate an income that can be reinvested in the community
• Designed to benefit the local community
• Please read our eligibility criteria to check if you can enter the competition.

For further information and to apply, visit: www.thepowertochange.org.uk/communitybusinessbrightsparks/, or contact 0300 124 0444, or email: [email protected]

Deadline: Monday 15 August 2016, 17:00