Growth Hub CEO urges the Government to provide funding to support more scaleup businesses
A leading business figure in Coventry and Warwickshire has called on the Government to provide funding to support more scaleup businesses to boost job creation and the economy.
Craig Humphrey, CEO of Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, attended the launch in London of the ScaleUp Institute’s tenth annual review which included the results of its largest ever survey of UK scaleup leaders.
The survey highlighted that the same five key barriers to higher growth remain from when the ScaleUp Institute began in 2014 – access to talent, markets, finance, infrastructure and leadership.
Scaleups are defined as businesses whose turnover has grown by an average of over 20 per cent every year for three consecutive years.
In Coventry and Warwickshire, there are some 500 high-growth businesses with the largest proportions in professional, scientific and technical activities, information and communications, and manufacturing.
Craig said supporting scaleup companies is of significant importance because they are innovative businesses who create high-quality jobs in a wide array of sectors and have high productivity, which all contribute to the economy and attract people to work in Coventry and Warwickshire.
He said: “The ScaleUp Institute’s annual review resonated with much of the information that we have received from high-growth businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire, that they are knowledge driven and need bespoke support different to that offered to other SMEs.
“To improve market access we need to put the business at the centre of the support we offer rather than simply creating programmes to support all businesses whatever their size or sector.
“I have always felt that if you simply create generic programmes to support all businesses it is a missed opportunity because of their specific needs.
“The ScaleUp Institute’s report recognises this distinction and recommends a more consistent approach in policy and support programmes across the whole of Government at both a national and local level to help address the issue.
“Another recommendation in the report is for expanding businesses to be able to access investors, mentors, talent and peer networks.
“This is already happening in Coventry and Warwickshire as we provide mentoring and coaching to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses, but we need more of it.
“That is one of the reasons why Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub is considered by Government to be one of the exemplar Growth Hubs in England because we have already laid the foundations to help scaleup businesses make the most of their ambitions.”
But Craig said there is still much work to be done to further help scaleup businesses and his account management team is continuing to provide their expert help.
“The report highlights that scaleup businesses prefer to be supported by an account management model through Growth Hubs because we are regarded as being key to accessing resources from the private and public sectors,” he said.
“Our account managers are tasked with identifying scaleup businesses right across Coventry and Warwickshire to provide the tailored support that they need and fast-track them to the appropriate support to grow their business and, in turn, our economy.”
