Free business support and training in Eastbourne

By Martial Chaput, published 7 October 2026.

Businesses in Eastbourne can get a surprising amount of help for free: impartial advice, free workshops, one-to-one mentoring and funded programmes for firms ready to grow. This guide sets out where that help comes from, who it is for and where to start.

Funded programmes open and close through the year, and eligibility rules change, so check the organisation’s own page before you apply. What’s On in Eastbourne lists each free workshop as soon as its dates are published.

Start here: the East Sussex Growth Hub

The East Sussex Growth Hub is the front door for business support in the county, and the councils point businesses to it. It gives free, impartial advice tailored to your business, covering funding, guidance, events and webinars, and it can point you to whichever programme fits.

• Who it is for: businesses in East Sussex.
• How to get help: use the contact form on the website, or email [email protected].
• What is open now: the Growth Hub’s support programmes page lists the current funded programmes across the county.

What the funded programmes cover

The county’s funded programmes change from year to year, but they tend to cover the same ground, delivered by local specialists:

• Business basics for sole traders and micro businesses: practical workshops on business planning, finance, marketing, sales and getting online, such as Business Essentials from Freedom Works.
• Digital skills: practical workshops on websites, Google visibility, using business data, AI and cyber security, such as the Digital Growth Series from Portobello Business Centre, with sessions in Eastbourne and other towns.
• One-to-one growth support: hours of free specialist help for small firms that are already trading, such as Time to Grow from Digital Islands.
• Scale-up programmes: longer programmes of workshops, peer support and mentoring for established businesses with staff and ambitions to grow, such as Scale Up East Sussex from Sussex Innovation.
• Sector support: for example for creative businesses, or for cutting energy costs.

Most of these are for businesses that are already trading in East Sussex. Free workshops show up on What’s On in Eastbourne under workshops as soon as dates are set.

Support from Eastbourne Borough Council

Eastbourne Borough Council funds free advice and mentoring for start-ups and existing businesses in the borough, and commissions occasional fully funded workshops, for example for sole traders deciding whether to become a limited company. The council’s business support page lists the services it funds.

In Hailsham, Polegate and the rest of Wealden, Wealden District Council runs a business newsletter and business breakfasts, and points businesses to the local chambers of commerce. The county programmes apply there too.

Research and ideas: your library

The Business & IP Centre Sussex, part of the British Library’s national network, offers free business databases and market research, one-to-one expert advice, help with intellectual property and events, at libraries including Eastbourne Library on Grove Road. Email [email protected] to ask what is on.

Starting out

• Eastbourne Borough Council funds free start-up advice and mentoring; its business support page has the details.
• The King’s Trust (formerly the Prince’s Trust) Enterprise programme offers free workshops, one-to-one support and a business mentor after launch for 18 to 30-year-olds starting a business, with grants and start-up funding for those who qualify.
• Business basics workshops from the county programmes suit sole traders and micro businesses in their first years.

Training for you and your team

Skills Bootcamps at East Sussex College are open to adults aged 19 and over who live or work in East Sussex. They are free for eligible learners who are not in work, and employers who send existing staff pay a small share of the cost.

Making the most of free support

1. Talk to the Growth Hub first. One conversation can save you from applying to the wrong programme.
2. Check eligibility before you apply. Most programmes ask that you are already trading, based in East Sussex, or within a set size.
3. Book early. Free workshops have limited places and often fill weeks ahead.
4. Go with one question to answer. You get more from a session when you know what you want to leave with.
5. Follow up. Many advisers offer a one-to-one after a workshop; take it.

What’s On in Eastbourne lists free workshops and training as soon as the organisers publish dates. See free events in Eastbourne, or get them every week in the Sunday email.

Find the next one: workshop events in Eastbourne, professional development events in Eastbourne, seminar events in Eastbourne.