London Met awarded government funding to help microbusinesses use tech to grow

London Met is the only London university to receive funding from the Leading to Grow Programme which is supported by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)

Date: 07 November 2019

The Guildhall School of Business and Law (GSBL) at London Met has been awarded funding to support 50 microbusinesses in London to engage with technology to boost their productivity.

GSBL is part of a consortium of business schools accredited by the Small Business Charter for their expertise in supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs who will deliver the programme. The Leading to Grow Programme will be offered at no cost to microbusinesses across England. London Met will be working business in the capital and south east.

Businesses that employ up to nine people will be able to apply to take part in workshops around how to utilise existing technologies to improve efficiency and profitability.

The funding has been made available through the government’s £9m Business Basics Programme run by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK.

Due to the small size and the dispersed nature of microbusinesses, they have not routinely received planned interventions by government agencies. The government is now targeting this type of business due to their potential and readiness to scale-up, and this is the first time that such a programme has been coordinated across the country.

With so many areas being covered it is hoped that this free programme will help a large number of microbusinesses and support economic growth in a number of regions.

The UK’s 1.1 million microbusinesses employ over 4 million people and contribute £533bn to the UK economy. The business schools, the Small Business Charter and the government hope to make a real impact on this important part of the economy. 

Professor Christos Kalantaridis, Dean of Guildhall School of Business and Law, said:

“We‘re proud to be the only consortium member from London. We have a long track record of encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit among our students through the design of our courses and the work of award-winning business incubator, The Accelerator.” 

“London Met makes a significant contribution to the economic and cultural life of London and by supporting this excellent scheme we can do even more to help microbusinesses in our community to thrive.”

Anne Kiem, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and Chief Executive of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said:

"We are excited to be working with business schools to help improve the productivity of a range of microbusinesses. The pace of technological advances means that today’s small firms who embrace innovation will be tomorrow’s success stories”

 

Get involved

 

Microbusinesses in London who are interested in benefiting can register online to find out more.

 

 

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Get involved

Microbusinesses in London who are interested in benefiting can register online to find out more.