EXCLUSIVE: Government denies supporting 'Business Link rival'
Ministers have denied claims that the government has given its official backing to a website which would rival its flagship Business Link online portal.
According to a report published by The Telegraph on 9 August, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (DBERR), which funds the Business Link network, has joined corporate giants Vodafone and Microsoft in backing new business advice website Smarta.com.
But, in a statement given to BusinessZone.co.uk, Business Link said that no support has been given.
The Telegraph article claimed that although the website, due to officially launch in November, has been set up to address some of the failings in the government's network of SME advice centres, it has the official support of Business Link. The report also quoted Smarta founder Sháá Wasmund as criticising Business Link advisers for lacking entrepreneurial experience.
However, the government organisation claimed that while officials have met with Wasmund to discuss how Business Link could help, "there is no arrangement in place for Business Link to back or endorse" the website. Furthermore, it said, despite Wasmund's claims that most advisers have not run a business, 56% have actually done so.
"Business Link, as a publicly funded service, does not endorse commercial services or products," the statement stressed.
Speaking to BusinessZone.co.uk, a spokesperson for Smarta also denied that the service is backed by BERR adding that the founders were not seeking to rival Business Link and it would not be a "Facebook-style" service as The Telegraph claimed.
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AccountingWEB.co.uk - 12-Aug-2008
Categories: News
Story read: 2618
