NORTH-East regional web portal n-e-life.com has appointed CAROLYN DOUGHERTY to help with a funding initiative designed to help the region's small businesses grow through the use of IT.

In her role, she will spread awareness of the Grow Your Business scheme among businesses, helping them to take advantage of the funding available to support IT projects.

Before joining n-e-life.com, Ms Dougherty worked in academic publishing in London, where she provided online delivery services.

Norma Foster, general manager of n-e-life.com said: "At n-e-life.com our goal is to move as many companies up the technology ladder as possible.

"The Grow initiative has already helped many regional businesses access the potential of e-commerce and make better use of Internet technology."

Ms Dougherty said: "I am looking forward to helping the team deliver tailored IT solutions to businesses in the North-East."