TDA is proud to support local business

TDA is proud to sponsor the Award for Innovation at this year’s Torbay Naturally Inspiring Business Awards.

The Award for Innovation is aimed at organisations which have put innovation at the heart of their business; showing and delivering exceptional and entrepreneurial skills to make their business fit and sustainable for the 21st century.

The innovation category was a natural fit for TDA and a category it feels passionate about. Every year, TDA helps local organisations to innovate, seize new opportunities and expand through its various programmes, support services and workspace facilities.

TDA offers business support and advice to organisations of all shapes and sizes, helping them to realise their business’s potential. Alongside this, it offers a range of workspace located across the region including Torbay Business Centre, Edginswell, Claylands and EPIC (Electronics and Photonics Innovation Centre) in Paignton - providing businesses with the space and facilities to succeed.

TDA wants to create an inclusive Torbay economy where everyone benefits and local people can gain meaningful employment. It raises career aspirations by working with local schools, host local jobs and apprenticeship fairs, and promotes high-value jobs in construction to young people via its Build Torbay programme. TDA also supports black and minority ethnic-owned businesses and is proud to have established a Torbay inclusive networking group aimed at this demographic.

From cutting-edge technology firms nestled within the EPIC Centre, to our bustling tourism, fishing, and healthcare industries, Torbay has an entrepreneurial spirit that’s worth celebrating.

About TDA

Set up by Torbay Council in 2011 to deliver Torbay Council’s economic development services, TDA's mission is to drive the physical and economic regeneration of Torbay so that it becomes a place where people and businesses can thrive.

Since its inception, TDA has introduced a wide range of initiatives designed to support businesses, create jobs, and increase investment to the area for the good of our residents, businesses and visitors.

TDA offers a range of services to help deliver its economic and physical regeneration objectives including business and property services, workspace management, affordable housing and engineering services.

As well as its business support activities, TDA also has a team of highly skilled engineers and property service professionals who work on many projects aimed at improving the local area.

From making structural improvements to schools to building coastal defences that protect our towns, from creating new social housing to building new hospital buildings, TDA's dedicated staff are making positive changes to Torbay that will benefit current and future generations.

Working alongside its partners and Torbay Council, TDA wants Torbay to become renowned as an area where high-tech companies locate, creative companies flourish and where visitors come to share our naturally inspiring surroundings and share in our leisure and lifestyle by the sea.

Together, we are creating a Torbay where people are proud to live and where tourists want to visit – and return.

IMPACT Torbay

One of the many ways that TDA is supporting business innovation is through the new IMPACT Torbay programme which starts in early July this year. Delivered by innovation specialists Studio Zao, IMPACT Torbay embraces the diverse needs of our local economy by offering support to businesses from all sectors.

Over the course of the five-week, part-time programme, participating businesses and entrepreneurs will be guided through a carefully structured programme, which includes in-depth workshops, one-on-one mentoring and expert coaching, access to a suite of useful tools and the opportunity to apply for grant funding.

This hands-on, collaborative approach will empower businesses to tackle challenges, seize opportunities, and translate them into tangible, innovative outcomes.

Torbay's thriving sectors will all have the opportunity to tap into this initiative, leading the charge in shaping a prosperous future for the region. This initiative is not just about supporting individual businesses; it's a strategic move aimed at uplifting the entire Torbay economy.

If you’re a manager or owner of a Torbay-based business and are interested in taking part, contact flora@studiozao.com

HOW TO ENTER

Categories this year are:

Overall Business of the Year - sponsored by Torbay Council

Tourism Business of the Year - sponsored by English Riviera BID Company

Small Business of the Year - sponsored by Torbay Business Forum

New Business - sponsored by Wollens

Employer of the Year - sponsored by South Devon College

Award for Innovation - sponsored by TDA

Commissioner's Business Community Champion Award - sponsored by Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner

Environmental Business Award - Prydis

James Wright Award for Inspirational Leader - sponsored by Majestic Holidays

Young Business Person of the Year Award - sponsored by Inter-Line Building Supplies

Torbay Weekly editor Jim Parker said: "We have so many great businesses and people out there with great stories to tell. My plea is: Please enter – and enter TODAY!"

You will find all the entry details and how to buy tickets for the gala night at the English Riviera Centre on June 15 at https://form.jotform.com/230295914606054. Entries close today (Friday, May 26)