Suppliers Readiness Programme

Westminster Council has partnered with Westminster Business Council (WBC) to deliver a Supplier Readiness Programme.
The programme aims to help Westminster-based small and micro businesses, which are diverse-led and mission-led,
to contract more with the council and our partners.


Benefits for your business

The Supplier Readiness Programme aims to provide hundreds of businesses with support to help enhance their skills, build professional networks, and become a successful bidder. The programme will be delivered online and in-person until March 2025, and support will be tailored to individual businesses.

Apply now to find out more


REGISTER HERE

Eligibility

To be eligible for the programme, your organisation must be at least one of the following:
A Westminster-based small, medium or micro (including sole trader) business (for example, under 250 staff).
A London-based diverse business (for example, 51% or more owned and led):

  • Global majority-led
  • Woman-led
  • Disabled-led
  • LGBT+-led

By the end of the programme, you will be better placed to:


  • Social Enterprise
  • Community Interest Company
  • Green/circular SME (for example, specifically supplying green products, services or solutions)
  • Cooperatives
  • Mutuals or employee-owned businesses

Support and guidance

Throughout the programme, Westminster Council and Westminster Business Council specialists will support you in the best position to win contracts with the council and other public and private organisations.

The support package offers:

  • Tailored guidance, workshops, and tools to facilitate SME supplier bidding for public and private contracts
  • Training sessions through hybrid delivery for greater accessibility to upskilling and knowledge-sharing opportunities
  • Sharing best practices to prepare target organisations for contract bidding and delivery
  • B2B mentoring, business shadowing, advice and training from larger companies in your sector
  • sector-specific 'meet the buyer' events and relevant networking opportunities.

By the end of the programme, you will be better placed to:


  • Tailored guidance, workshops, and tools to facilitate SME supplier bidding for public and private contracts
  • Training sessions through hybrid delivery for greater accessibility to upskilling and knowledge-sharing opportunities
  • Sharing best practices to prepare target organisations for contract bidding and delivery
  • B2B mentoring, business shadowing, advice and training from larger companies in your sector
  • sector-specific 'meet the buyer' events and relevant networking opportunities.

Upcoming Events

Funding

The government funds the Supplier Readiness Programme through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The UKSPF is part of the government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda, providing £2.6bn of funding for local investment across the UK by March 2025. The Supplier Readiness Programme aligns with the UKSPF investment priority of supporting local businesses.

Supplier Readiness Programme Launch

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your brand visibility and meet your next customer.