New businesses are being offered help on how to grow and develop at a series of master classes starting next week.

Funded by a grant from ideaSpace Enterprise Accelerator and backed by a broad alliance of prestigious regional partners, the East Anglian Startup Masterclass programme will run 31 events in Norwich, Ipswich and Cambridge.

Starting on November 14, the Norwich programme has been organised with the support of the Hethel Engineering Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norfolk Network, Easton College and EPIC.

The 10 month programme will cover topics covering from developing and protecting an idea, building a team, attracting investment, identifying target markets, marketing and positioning and generating sales.

The aim is to support the growth of early stage companies by providing access to the skills and inspiration they need through a combination of events, mentoring, web-based training and access to an online community to help create a culture and environment for innovation.

Startups in Norfolk will also benefit from 30 entrepreneur bursaries, courtesy of EPIC and Hethel Engineering Centre and the John Innes Centre.

The launch event, Survival Stories from the Startup Jungle, features talks from Andy Fisher, from ipatter, Ian Doughty, from StructureFlex, Thomas Haizel, AngliaDNA, and Tom Wood from Foolproof.

Mauro Ciaccio of CamTechNet, organiser of the Startup Masterclass programme, said: 'For entrepreneurs to turn brilliant ideas into viable businesses they need a complete range of skills, many of which lie outside their experience,' he said 'That's why we launched the Startup Masterclass programme to nurture businesses across the region and help them thrive and grow.'

Alan Giles, director of Norwich Research Park, said: 'The programme of events provides essential information and training to support the success of early stage companies on the Norwich Research Park and more widely across East Anglia. This is a great opportunity to acquire knowledge that will help them develop their businesses.'