Today The Gazette joins 500 local newspapers in launching the Local Business Accelerators campaign for 2012-13 (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Today The Basingstoke Gazette joins forces with Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Deborah Meaden to support the Local Business Accelerators campaign for 2012-13

6:00am Thursday 4th October 2012 in Hampshire Business By Richard Garfield

TODAY, The Gazette is among 500 local newspapers that are once again joining forces with Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Deborah Meaden to launch the Local Business Accelerators campaign for 2012-13.

Just like last year, the initiative, spearheaded by the Newspaper Society, aims to boost promising young businesses by delivering a £15million shot in the arm through free advertising and vital business mentoring.

The highly-acclaimed campaign is being supported by the Government and private sector’s Business in You campaign, and is backed by, among others, the Prime Minister David Cameron and Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King. Locally, businesses aged between one and five years old can enter the LBA competition for the chance to win a three-month Gazette Newspapers free advertising campaign, plus mentoring support from successful local business leaders. The most promising businesses will go forward to the national stage of the competition where there is a chance to win a year’s mentoring from Deborah Meaden, who is the LBA national ambassador, and to benefit from a local advertising campaign devised by a top London creative ad agency.

Deborah said: “With last year’s LBA having demonstrated the unique power of local and regional press to provide a meaningful boost to promising young businesses, I am delighted to be supporting the initiative once again. “The campaign provided tangible examples of the real contribution that local newspapers can provide to young businesses across many different sectors, accelerating their development.

“Enterprise and entrepreneurism in the local community is more important than ever before and I look forward to finding another young business to mentor and drive forward.” Last year’s overall LBA winner, Ilkley Brewery, in Yorkshire, is currently receiving mentoring support from Deborah.

It has seen orders in Leeds double as a result of the free LBA ad campaign in its local paper, and the business has expanded to take on two new employees since taking part in the initiative. Here in Basingstoke, our local overall winner was social media start-up firm CubeSocial, headed by Linda Cheung and Mark Bower The firm based in Chineham, was one of three winning local finalists – the others were Gemma McGookin, from wedding stationery business Handmade By Gemma, and recruitment specialist Angela Warner, from vacancy2market.com.

Each of the three won three months of free advertising with Gazette newspapers’ and free mentoring support from RSM Tenon’s business development consultant Mike Loftus and associate director Jez Quigg after selected as the winners following a Dragons’ Den-style pitch to a panel of judges.

This year’s launch coincides with new research that shows Britain’s young businesses are positive about prospects for growth despite tough economic times, although they still need advice and support.

Gazette Newspapers’ editor Mark Jones said: “The Local Business Accelerators scheme was a great success last year, and we look forward to receiving the entries from local business people who want to get in the running for the 2012-13 competition.”