A SCHEME is being launched to lead economic growth and create new jobs in the digital and technology sector.

The Digital Enterprise initiative involves a voucher scheme, with a £3.5 million pot of funding being offered to privately owned B2B organisations with fewer than 250 employees which are looking to expand.

The scheme covers the Leeds City Region, which includes York, Selby and Harrogate.

The idea behind it is that the digital and technology field offers many opportunities to the UK economy, but many of these are not accessible to small and medium-sized organisations due to the investment they require.

Employers across all sectors are increasingly needing to deploy new technologies to raise their efficiency, productivity, mobility and competitiveness – with enhanced connectivity and hosted or cloud-based solutions coming up high on the list of priorities.

The Digital Enterprise funding will support projects such as these, up to a maximum value of £25,000 and offers a fast approval process which will take an estimated seven days for each application received.

Everything Voice, providers of business communications and connectivity solutions, have been selected to partner Digital Enterprise.

Neil Hutchinson, founder and director at Everything Voice, said: “Everything Voice will work with current and future clients to design tailored proposals and make the most of the funding available to SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) across the Leeds region.

“We have a full range of connectivity solutions which suit all budgets and infrastructure needs, and as specialists in communications, we have seen the rapid growth of hosted VoIP and telephony solutions which offer a highly efficient, reliable and cost-effective communications platform for organisations with under 250 employees.”

The Digital Enterprise scheme is officially set to launch in January 2017, but Everything Voice are now looking to source companies to join the pilot phase which takes place this month.

Organisations taking part in the pilot will get first chance to apply for funding before it is offered out to the market.

“As a Yorkshire-based, local firm, Everything Voice knows the region well and is looking forward to working with Digital Enterprise to help its fellow SMBs in the area to kick-start 2017 on a high, through maximising their potential for growth and success from the outset,” said Mr Hutchinson.

For more information on how to apply for funding, what types of project will be funded and support with the application process, people can contact Mr Hutchinson at Everything Voice.