FOURTEEN more businesses are set for a welcome boost as part of a Daily Echo-backed scheme.

Bridging the Gap has already benefited 97 small and medium-sized businesses in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, investing more than £3.5m and creating or safeguarding more than 600 jobs.

And now another 14 firms have been selected as recipients of the scheme, which is run by the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and uses cash from the Government's Regional Growth Fund to help get new businesses up and running or support the expansion of existing one.

In the latest batch of winners 14 firms have been awarded £323,042 in funding which has leveraged in a further £836,000 from the businesses themselves and other sources.

And it means 76 jobs have been either created or safeguarded by the funding awards.

They range from go karting and bakers to clothing and engineering firms.

They include Southampton-based Opportunity Education Services, which provides educational courses for Chinese students and LightMy, another firm based in the city which designs and supplies low carbon and sustainable lighting products.

Southampton-based Healios Ltd, which has developed a service helping families looking after relatives with psychosis, won £38,000 in funding which has created two jobs and safeguarded another three.

The firm, based in the Mountbatten Business Centre in Millbrook Road East, is carrying out a £104,000 project to upgrade IT equipment and its research and development facilities.

The business offers support to the family and carers of people with psychosis using technology, education and coaching.

Founder and chairman Richard Andrews, who set up the firm after working in health care and started the business after members of his family suffered from Alzheimers, said: "The money from the fund will be used to develop e anew service around entering into the private market.

"While we are still working with the NHS there are many other people who could access us privately and we wanted to create that option for them."

Solent LEP senior account manager Steve Futter said: "Bridging the Gap has been an extremely popular programme for local businesses and we have been able to support 111 projects so far, with over £4m invested into Solent businesses. We are now seeing the real benefit of the programme with over 700 jobs being created or safeguarded.

"In Southampton and surrounding areas, including the Isle of Wight, we have supported 38 SMEs and helped 15 entrepreneurs start up new businesses.

"We are extremely pleased the Government has recognised the success of Bridging the Gap and have now offered us another £2m funding through the Solent Local Growth Deal to continue to operate the scheme in 2015/16.

"The next deadline for full applications is July 17. We also hold monthly business support events that give information about our funds - the next one of these is July 16."

You can find out more about Bridging the Gap at http://solentlep.org.uk/growing_places/bridging_the_gap_fund