Create Growth Programme - Funding Competition Briefing Event

The Create Growth Programme is a DCMS supported programme delivered by Innovate UK that aims to support high-growth creative businesses in six English regions.

The regions covered by the programme are:

• Greater Manchester, including Wigan, Bolton, Bury, Rochdale, Salford, Oldham, Trafford, Manchester, Tameside and Stockport
• East Anglia, including Norfolk, Suffolk, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire
• North East, including North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham, Northumberland and Newcastle
• West of England, including Bristol, Bath, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
• South East; including Essex, East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Medway, Brighton and Hove, Southend on Sea and Thurrock
• East Midlands; including Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Rutland

The aim of the programme is to help creative businesses in these regions to scale and become investment ready through a targeted support package with three complementary strands across bespoke business support, investor outreach activities and a finance fund.

Innovate UK is providing a finance fund of up to £7 million to help creative businesses in Create Growth Programme regions to explore new innovation projects that will stimulate growth and attract private investment. The first part of this fund will be made available through a grant competition.

This virtual briefing event, recorded on Monday 5 December 2022, outlines the programme further and provided attendees the chance to ask questions about what this opportunity can provide them.

UK registered micro and small businesses in the creative sector can apply for funding of up to £30,000 for innovation projects to grow their business.

Applicants must:

• be from the creative industries
• be from DCMS Create Growth Programme region
• focus on a clear growth opportunity and the proposed innovation to address it
• demonstrate the impact funding and support can have on the growth plan of  your business
• engage with the regional support if your application is successful

Click here for more details of the available funding.

Data collected about this event will be shared with our partners. The event is being run in conjunction with The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Innovate UK, Innovate UK KTN, and the following regional teams:

• Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP)
• Kent County Council (KCC)
• West of England Combined Authority
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)
• New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership
• North of Tyne Combined Authority