Growth Hub Week took place in May and it was a great success. As part of the event, Small Business Minister Anna Soubry announced that some 4.7 million businesses are now covered by a network of 39 Growth Hubs.
Growth Hubs are led by Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), they’re public / private sector partnerships that forge connections between national and local enterprises to help businesses find and access the help they need. In all, there are 39 Growth Hubs operating across England, providing the support businesses operating in all sectors need to set up, grow and employ more people. During Growth Hub Week, which ran from 16th to 20th May, the Small Business Minister Anna Soubry announced that the full complement of 39 Growth Hubs, were now up and running and delivering their services everywhere from Gloucestershire to Dorset, Tees Valley to Stoke-on-Trent. She said:
“Small businesses are the beating heart of our economy and this government continues to build the right environment for them to thrive. We will keep cutting red tape and business taxes, improving access to finance and broadband, and taking forward the measures in the Enterprise Act to cement our position as the best place in Europe to do business. Growth hubs have already helped thousands of businesses and, with the full network up and running, every registered business in England can access the expertise they need to succeed. They will help entrepreneurs boost their business and create more jobs for people in the local area.”
During Growth Hub Week various events and communications took place that were designed to raise awareness of the public and private sector support available to England’s entrepreneurs and small businesses. Simultaneously, the initiative sought to promote the delivery of simple, easy-to-access business support provided by agencies from the public and private sectors working collaboratively and in a joined up manner to help businesses grow. Irene Graham, Chief Executive Officer of the ScaleUp Institute said:
“It has never been a better time for the public and private sectors to work together to support the growth needs of our fastest scaling businesses. The news that growth hubs now have a presence across the country is highly welcome. They can ‘lean in’ to support scale up businesses and help them attain even greater success. The ScaleUp Institute is committed to helping them in their journey.”