Norfolk's Chambers of Commerce launching new project to help young entrepreneurs
'Co.next' aims to offer county-wide support to aspiring business leaders and professionals thanks to a panel of experts currently in the field
Last updated 4th Feb 2022
Norfolk's Chambers of Commerce is launching a new concept designed to help those aged under 35, next week.
'Co.next' aims to offer county-wide support to aspiring business leaders and professionals thanks to a panel of experts currently in the field.
Rose Steward is from the non for profit group and explains why the programme was established: "A big part of it was that we didn't feel there was so much offering in Norfolk for our under 35's and we have the perfect platform to offer it.
"We wanted to create a space that was engaging and supportive of young people in Norfolk, plus we know we have so many great connections, we knew that we'd be a great place to start".
She says the last few years have been tricky for many: "There is so much that people feel they have missed out on, that we want give back to the Norfolk community.
"A lot of that has been networking. I built a lot of my personal network in pre-pandemic times and a lot of that was built through face to face engagement. When that disappeared, the idea of virtual networking was not so promising for people and many wanted to see others face to face.
"We went from being a world that was very engaged and very physical to suddenly being completely virtual and I think a lot of young professionals struggled with that. A lot of the feedback we've been getting is 'I like working in the office, I like the social aspect and I like learning from actually seeing somebody work compared to reading some instructions off of a screen".
She concluded by saying that they're already looking to the future: "We're planning long-term. We've go an advisory board in place that supports our main door that will re-new every six months. That's made up of under-35s so it's a chance for them to be part of a board, make changes and also have some opportunity for mentorship