First award for CWLEP Growth Hub!
One of the leading business organisations in Coventry and Warwickshire has won its first award.
The Coventry and Warwickshire LEP Growth Hub, which is a one-stop-shop for support and advice for businesses throughout Coventry and Warwickshire, has been presented with the Business Mentor of the Year – Midlands trophy at the 2017 Consultancy & Advisory Awards.
The global awards are given to sectors and industries, consultants and advisors who play a major role in businesses’ ongoing success by providing advice, assistance and essential information that informs and shapes vital strategy.
Craig Humphrey, managing director of the CWLEP Growth Hub which is now based at the Coventry University Technology Park, said he was proud to have received the award.
“It is satisfying because when I joined three years ago I wanted to build a team of advisors that had credibility with the businesses that they were speaking to and most of the team now have previously worked in the private sector, run their own business or have been involved with large companies at board level,” he said.
“It is important our staff have first-hand experience of barriers to growth or businesses experiencing difficulty so that they have some understanding of the business landscape.
“The award is an acknowledgement of that because our account managers build relationships with businesses to transform their potential into growth and increase productivity as well as having experience in a wide range of sectors.
“We have reached a stage where our account managers are inundated with enquiries and a recent report highlighted that companies who engage with Growth Hubs up and down the country, grow six per cent more rapidly than those who don’t.”
The award win caps a memorable 12 months for the CWLEP Growth Hub after it developed the region’s first Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival alongside the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
The Business Festival attracted more than 4,000 delegates to around 100 events throughout the two weeks with 25 per cent attending from outside the region.
“When you introduce a new concept into an area there is always a certain amount of apprehension but the reaction from the Coventry and Warwickshire business community couldn’t have been better,” he said.
“In terms of engaging, promoting and attending events, there was tremendous support in the inaugural year and there was a 99 per cent satisfaction rate among those who attended events.
“Events like this are great for raising the profile of the area and the same will be true when Coventry hosts the UK City of Culture in 2021.
“Two of the reasons we won the UK City of Culture 2021 were our heritage and our cultural history and being successful will further lift the aspirations and confidence of young people who live and work here because during the bid process, their pride was there for all to see. These are exciting times.”
