A programme helping new enterprises with Tower Hamlets funding has now managed to get 150 East End businesses off the ground in just two years.

It was a snip for Giuliano Dore’s mobile barber company idea who got help from the council’s ‘start-up ready’ programme.

He was among the programme’s graduates receiving their certificates at the Whitechapel enterprise hub.

“The programme turned my humble idea into a business with impact,” he said. “It helped connect with start-up professionals to push our project that defied our biggest dreams.”

The council has given out £655,000 since 2016 to run the programme, a four-day training course for those with a genuine interest in setting up their own business.

Deputy mayor Motin Uz-Zaman, said: “Setting up a business is a daunting process, but we’ve been able to provide the financial and training support to make those dreams a reality.”

The programme teaches marketing techniques, bookkeeping, accounting, how to put a business plan together and about ‘intellectual property’. It has had 345 people graduating since 2016, which has created 152 new businesses.