Small businesses from across the city recently came to The University of Nottingham’s Innovation Park to learn about the Growth 100 business support initiative.
Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Growth 100 programme offers tailored support to Nottingham businesses, and is part of Nottingham City Council’s Growth Plan promoting job creation and economic growth over the next five to ten years.
The information evening provided businesses with information about the bespoke training and development package which targets both the business and the business owner – laying the foundation for future investment and growth.
An essential part of the Growth Plan
Nottingham City Councillor Nick McDonald, said: “The Growth 100 programme is an essential part of the City Council’s Growth Plan. We want to give ambitious small businesses in the City the support and help that they need to develop and grow. The Growth 100 programme is enabling us to connect with a wide range of early-stage businesses that have potential for growth and job creation.”
At the event, local businesses had the opportunity to meet like-minded business owners and experts from Nottingham University Business School who specialise in entrepreneurship and innovation.
The programme will use tutors and coaches with significant experience of building early-stage enterprises, providing participants with insights into areas of core strategic and operational importance.
Taking the business to the next level
Professor Simon Mosey, Director of UNIEI – The Haydn Green Institute at the University, said: “The business owners and directors that take part in the Growth 100 programme will benefit from the expertise of people who are working at the cutting edge of management development training.
"I am confident that all of the business people taking part in the programme will really benefit from it and hopefully be able to take their business to the next level.”
The University of Nottingham is looking to select a first cohort of around 25 businesses, with other cohorts starting again later this year and also in 2014. Each company will undertake a detailed business needs analysis to determine the kind of support required.
This will then lead to a bespoke training and development plan for the owners and directors of the business, covering areas such as leadership skills, finance, human resources, marketing, innovation, peer networking and other key subjects.
Building sustainable businesses
Jonathan English, graduate of the University of Nottingham and co-founder of video production company Skeleton Productions is one of the business people who has applied for the Growth 100 programme, he said: “I am hoping that if I get onto the Growth 100 programme it will help me to continue to grow Skeleton in a planned way, and build a genuinely sustainable business.
"I also believe it will help Skeleton become an attractive proposition, helping us to gain the investment that will take us to the next stage of our development.”
A key outcome of the programme will be that each business develops a Business Growth Plan. This will also articulate the strategy and possible expansion plans of the business, which can in turn be used as a basis of a presentation for potential future investors.
Businesses can register for Growth 100 until 21st March.
Further details and an application form can be downloaded on www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/growth100
ENDS
For more information about this press release, contact either Lucy Murray, student PR intern on aeylm@nottingham.ac.uk, or Nick King, Marketing Projects Manager, Business Engagement and Innovation Services, University of Nottingham. Tel: 0115 82 32184, e: nicholas.king@nottingham.ac.uk or
Notes to editors:
About The University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has 42,000 students at award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is also the most popular university in the UK by 2012 application numbers, and ‘the world’s greenest university’.
It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings.
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