Digital Frontiers, 25.4.14

Connecting people, creating opportunities

Digital Frontiers

Waterside Arts Centre, Sale

25th April 2014

09:45 – 15:00


Welcome

Ric Michael

Facilitator


Helen Jones

Corporate Director for Economic Growth and Prosperity

Trafford Council


Nigel Walker

Head of Access to Finance

Technology Strategy Board

Launchpad – stimulating cluster growthGreater Manchester Creative & Digital Launchpad

Nigel WalkerAccess to FinanceTechnology Strategy Board

We fund, support and connect innovative British businesses through a unique mix of expertise and programmes to accelerate economic growth

Enabling young and early stage SMEs with significant growth ambition by being part of a developing cluster:

• Innovation through R&D project funding• Business support including coaching & mentoring• Attracting new investment

Open to SMEs that:• Are in the cluster• Plan to start up in / move into the cluster• Collaborate with a company already in the cluster

Easy to apply (2 min video), selected companies invited to submit full written application and present to panel

Stimulating Cluster Growth

Tech City 1: £1.25m grants for 13 companies

Harwell Space: £1m grants for 11 companies

Digital and Creative Clyde: £620k grants for 11 companies

Materials & Manufacturing North West: £1.5m grants for 18 companies

Motorsport Valley: £1.1m grants for 11 projects

Cyber Severn Valley: results to be announced soon

Previous Launchpad Competitions

Greater Manchester Creative & Digital LaunchpadProject Lead

Digital Bridge Shortbrite Ltd

Interactive Projected Displays Hardy & Ellis Inventions Ltd

EventBeat Saas EventBeat Ltd

Automating Knowledge in the Cloud

Empiricom Technologies Ltd

Impact Reason Digital Ltd

User-Generated Metadata Movobi Ltd

Tick Tickvantage Ltd

Moneystream Play Creative Ltd

GM Whole House Retrofit Design & Assessment Tool

Carbon Co-op

Social Hosted TV iBurbia Studios Manchester Ltd

Greater Manchester Creative & Digital Launchpad

• 10 successful projects, sharing approx £670,000 in grant funding

• Project companies participating in business support programme led by “Cluster Champion”, Business Growth Hub

• 6 shortlisted applicants also engaged• Showcasing event for investors: 10th

June at The Landing

www.innovateuk.orgNigel Walker, Access to [email protected] 418360@NigelWalker7

mailto:[email protected]


Peter Saunders

Company Director

Mackinnon & Saunders


Panel Session and Q&A

Asa Calow, Director - MadLab

Andy Sumner, Managing Director - Sumners MediaCity Ltd.

Lynne McCadden, Media Specialist/ Consultant

Naomi Timperley, Director - Enterprise Lab


Digital Frontiers

Waterside Arts Centre, Sale

25th April 2014

09:45 – 15:00


Akshay Bhatnagar

Access to Finance Specialist

Access to Finance NorthwestService Overview

Akshay Bhatnagar

www.a2fnw.co.uk

[email protected]

http://www.a2fnw.co.uk/

Access To Finance – What We Do‘Matching Businesses With Finance’

1. Help viable NW SME’s become investment ready

2. Support the process of obtaining appropriate funding

Access To Finance – USP’s‘Matching Businesses With Finance’

• Impartial / Independent

• Credible….Experience / Knowledge

• Complimentary

• Fully funded = Free To Access

• Business Growth Hub

Access To Finance – Types Of Funding‘Matching Businesses With Finance’

• Business Angels – North West Business Angels

• Venture Capital – AXM NWF for Digital and Creative

• Grants – TSB and RGF• RGF through GM Funding cascade > £100k• Small firms loan fund – BFS < £100k• Mainstream Bank Lending• Emerging Sources – Crowdfunding / Peer to Peer

Lending

Access To Finance – Summary‘Matching Businesses With Finance’

• A valuable service carried out by very

experienced people• Fully-funded service• “one-stop shop”• Experience in digital and creative

sector• NWBA

Contact us to find out more!

@A2F_NW

Phone: 0161 237 4413

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.a2fnw.co.uk



Johanna Bolhoven

Creative England

25 April 2014Johanna Bolhoven, Creative England

Digital Frontiers: Making and Creating Manchester’s Media Future

One stop shop

Creative England is the first dedicated support agency for the creative industries outside London, with the core purpose of supporting the sustainable growth of independent creative businesses and the talent that feeds them

Funding and support

• Interest free Business Loans• Creative business mentoring programme• Business planning skills workshops• Making a difference with knowledge• Travel grants• Production funding

Johanna BolhovenCluster Development Manager

Creative England

T: +44 7717 755846E: [email protected]

W: www.creativeengland.co.uk@creativeengland @jbolhoven

Johanna BolhovenCluster Development Manager

Creative England

T: +44 7717 755846E: [email protected]

W: www.creativeengland.co.uk@creativeengland @jbolhoven


Nigel Walker

Head of Access to Finance

Technology Strategy Board

Driving Innovation

29

Technology Strategy BoardThe UK’s Innovation AgencyNigel WalkerAccess to Finance

Mark Glover12th January 2011

Driving Innovation

Stimulating business-led innovation to drive economic growth• The original DTI Innovation Unit and advisory

“Technology Strategy Board” was set up in 2004• It was spun out of government as a “non-

departmental public body” in July 2007, relocated to Swindon and staffed with people from business

• Since then it’s budget has increased from £250m to £440m a year – and it’s going up more in 2015/16

Driving Innovation

What is the problem we are addressing?• Business investment is too low and too late

• Technical and financial risks need to be mitigated• The time for financial return is too long for many players

• Innovation disrupts value chains and business models• New partnerships are required to build new supply chains• Investment and innovation is required at multiple points

• Longer term trends are not visible to all players• Impact and opportunities from emerging technologies & policies

• Innovation infrastructure is complex and inefficient• Fragmented and difficult to navigate

• Government does not make best use of its levers• Procurement, regulation, standardisation, fiscal incentives

Driving Innovation

What are we doing about it?• Accelerating the journey between concept and

commercialisation– Understand the business journey and accelerate it– Provide a coherent package of support – matched to needs– Specific SME package – but recognise role of larger companies– Promote knowledge exchange

• Connecting the innovation landscape• Turning government action into business opportunity• Investing in priority areas based on potential• Continuously improving our capability

Driving Innovation

What are our Criteria?• Market

– What is the current and projected size, how fast is it growing, who are the competition?

• Capability– Does the UK have a strong research base in the area, the skills, the

business capacity?

• Timing– Is the cost curve balanced by the value curve?

• Additionality– Why should the taxpayer support this project?

34

Driving Innovation

CatapultsHigh Value

ManufacturingCell Therapy

Offshore Renewable Energy

Satellite ApplicationsConnected Digital

EconomyFuture Cities

Transport Systems(Diagnostics for Stratified

Medicine)(Energy Systems)

Knowledge Transfer Networks

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

Smart

Driving Innovation

Concept Commercialisation

Business & Investment Support

Networks

Connections

Money

DevelopmentEvaluation Validation

Driving InnovationD

EG

RE

E O

F A

GG

REG

ATIO

N COMPANY

BUSINESS

PROGRAMME

PROJECT

YEARS TO FIRST PRODUCT SALE

NOW FUTURE

+10+5-5-10 0

PAST

Project Performance

Competition Specification

Impact Assessment

LAGGING LEADING

COUNTRY Market

Projections

Economic Growth

Driving Innovation

Where the money goes

Driving Innovation

• We don’t have enough money to satisfy the needs of all companies

• Our processes are thought my some to be too bureaucratic but we need to be accountable for our use of taxpayers money

• We need to make the process take companies on a developmental journey

• Assessment, even with 5 assessors, tends to be more subjective that we would like

• Feedback on why proposals aren’t successful needs to be more co-ordinated and useful

• Not everyone knows we are here to help them

What have we learned?

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Academic

Large

Medium

Small

Micro

Research indicates that 3-7% of companies drive bulk of economic growth .

Tough to identify high growth companies in advance but innovation and age/size are indicators

8%

54%

18%

20%

Smart

Pre-start

1-5Yrs

5-10yrs

>10yrs

0.00%10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%80.00%90.00%

100.00%

Micro

Small

Medium

Large

Academic

Engaging with smaller, younger businesses

Driving Innovation

SME Growth Pilot Pilot delivered through GrowthAccelerator, Plymouth

University and Entrepreneurs & Education Partnership 196 businesses signed up to growth coaching 261 businesses / 528 individuals attended / viewed 20

entrepreneurial skills development events Key Lessons Learned:

Complementary support works – changes to attitudes, behaviour and performance

Lack of awareness of need – but participation increases understanding, confidence, willingness to seek future support

Successful delivery – requires effective communication and appropriate incentives

Driving Innovation

SME Growth Programme The majority of our clients are SMEs SMEs have the greatest potential for high growth

But many will need support to achieve that Greater success when advice and guidance is delivered

together with direct support for innovation Adding Value through the Application Process Access to Entrepreneurial Skills and Mentoring Access to Coaching - GrowthAccelerator Connecting to Investors Connecting the support landscape

Accelerating the journey from concept to commercialisation

Driving Innovation

Driving Innovation

Stimulating business-led innovation to drive economic growth

http://www.innovateuk.orge: [email protected]: +44 7824 418360tw: @NigelWalker7li: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nigel-walker/3/ba4/702


https://twitter.com/NigelWalker7

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nigel-walker/3/ba4/702


Rahim Lakha

Business Growth Hub


Digital Disruption to Digital Growth

Rahim LakhaDigital Growth AdvisorGreater Manchester Digital Growth Service


“We are on the brink of a new industrial revolution”

David Cameron, CeBIT, March 2014


Industries Disrupted


Organisations Disrupted


New Opportunities


Tomorrow’s World


• ‘Internet of Things’ - £45 million research funding.

• £1 million ‘European Internet of Things’ grant fund for businesses.



• We aim to help SMEs in GM realise their growth ambitions, via digital technologies.

• Vendor neutral – impartial advise.

Digital Growth Service


• Master classes & workshops on specific digital technologies.

• One to one consultancy.

• Fully funded – free at point of use.



• Grant funding of up to £3k on a match funding basis.

• Digital projects must be growth focused.

• Projects include: e-commerce, international trade, migrating to cloud technologies, developing a social media strategy, moving to hosted VoIP, etc.



• Grant funding of up to £3k for connectivity upgrade, available from Manchester and Salford councils.

• Access to supplier marketplace.

• Access to events and conferences.



joe

chriskatie

lee

robrahim

ursula


“It is our ambition to make the UK the most digital nation in the G8”



Thank you


Contact us to find out more:

Phone: 0161 359 3050

Email: [email protected]

www.businessgrowthhub.com

@bizgrowthhub

Business Growth Hub

+Businessgrowthhub