European Workshops. Business Support & Access to Finance

Transcription

1 European Workshops Business Support & Access to Finance June 2015

2 The Strategic Context for Business Support & Access to Finance Introduction This theme is one of the six core priorities set out in the Strategic Economic Plan. The aims of the Business Support Programme are: 1. To increase Gross Value Added and employment in North East businesses through the provision of a highquality, demand-led business development programme that facilitates improvements in productivity and supports sustainable growth. 2. To ensure thatnorth East businesses have access to finance necessary to support their growth and expansion plans. 3. To increase the economic benefits from external markets through inward investment, exports and tourism. To help deliver the programme objectives, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was awarded funding through the Growth Deal (July 2014) for a Growth Hub. The Growth Hub is a key mechanism for delivering the objectives of the business support programme across the North East. Strategic Context Strategic Economic Plan The North East economy has too few private sector jobs and needs better quality jobs to increase productivity and provide a broader range of opportunities for the workforce. Underpinned by the North East Independent Economic Review, the North East Strategic Economic Plan sets out an integrated programme to address this issue which will deliver the vision that, by 2024, the North East economy will provide over one million jobs. This represents 100,000 new jobs. Critically, a significant proportion of these new jobs will be higher value and high skill. Business support is a key pillar of the plan s approach to achieving economic growth. Business support together with access to finance is a key driver for a strong private sector and for the creation of more jobs within the economy. The Business Support Programme will, through the work of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and its partners, support a dynamic and entrepreneurial economy in which businesses and individuals have the ambition and confidence to develop and grow. The Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) sets out three inter-related strategic priorities for investment in growing business and businesses in the North East: Ensuring that businesses have access to finance to support growth and expansion plans Increasing GVA and employment in North East businesses through the provision of a high quality, demand-led business development support programme Increasing the economic benefits from external markets through exports, inward investment and tourism These priorities require the development and delivery of a comprehensive, strategic and demand-led business support programme is required which is focused on addressing market failures to support stronger indigenous businesses. Growth, productivity and expansion through access to national and international markets are significant features. To deliver the strategy, business and enterprise support services will seek to support business growth and increase entrepreneurial activity by providing the LEP area with those services that enable local businesses to improve productivity and increase employment and trade. This will be achieved by activities which support new and existing businesses to grow and to grow more quickly, accelerating their contribution to the economy, by improved access to the right type of business support and more effective operation of the business support services market. Impacts will include profitability, wages and employment growth in all sectors and types of business, including in the social enterprise sector, and improved sustainability of employment growth. North East European Structural and Investment Funds Strategy The North East LEP area has a significant deficit of private sector employment and too few private enterprises. In response to this, a goal of the European Strategy is to increase profitability, wages and employment in private sector companies. The strategy also aims to stimulate and support the growth of micro, small and medium-sized businesses and ensure the sustainability of employment growth by investing in and growing our business base. This will require a more streamlined and integrated offer of client (demand)-led business support and an increase in the accessibility of finance to local firms. Whilst for many businesses access to finance is the basis requirement, broader business support is required to enable new entrepreneurs, existing businesses and social enterprises to develop. Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, as the majority of the business stock and the backbone of the business community, have significant

3 contribution to make to economic growth and employment. Of the 44,760 VAT registered and PAYE employer business in the area, some 86% are micro enterprises (38,400) and 13.2% (6,095) are small or medium businesses employing less than 250 employees. Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, as the majority of the business stock and the backbone of the business community, have significant contribution to make to economic growth and employment. The North East is the only English region to have shown a positive balance of trade in recent years (since 2011). Some 50% of overseas trade is in manufactured goods and around one third of the area s exports are destined for non-european markets (North America, Asia and Oceania).The high performance is based on a small minority of firms exporting but there is significant scope to increase international trade and exports, both in the manufacturing and service sectors. Therefore, the European Strategy sets out our commitment to addressing the needs of the area s diverse micro and SMEs through a comprehensive programme of appropriate business support which embraces the activities highlighted in the SEP: Trade, productivity and high-growth programmes for North east businesses which complement those programmes and services provided through the Government s core business support and trade and export offers Mentoring and intensive work with smaller, fast-growing businesses Productivity and high-value business creation Development of new products and services, with deeper and global market penetration Engagement of universities and other institutions with businesses to drive growth opportunities Approaches to business support and growth which draw on the social value of investment to underpin the development of a vibrant social enterprise culture The Business Support Programme The Business Support Programme will, through our work and our partners, support a dynamic and entrepreneurial economy in which businesses and individuals have the ambition and confidence to develop and grow. The programme has three aims reflecting the strategic priorities for investing in and growing our businesses: Business and enterprise support: To increase Gross Value Added and employment in North East businesses through the provision of a high-quality, demand-led business development programme that facilitates improvements in productivity and supports sustainable growth. This will be achieved by activities which support new and existing businesses to grow and to grow more quickly, accelerating their contribution to the economy, by improved access to the right type of business support and more effective operation of the business support services market. Access to finance To ensure that North East businesses have access to finance necessary to support their growth and expansion plans. This will be achieved by securing new sources of investment and flows of finance, and generating additional employment and GVA in the North East economy. Inward investment, trade and tourism To increase the economic benefits from external markets through inward investment, exports and tourism. The presence of the LEP area will be strengthened through inward investment, exporting and tourism. The presence of North East companies will be strengthened in key international markets. The North East Growth Hub The North East Growth Hub, is an online business support platform that will be the go-to resource for North East companies looking for business support and advice. It will bring together information on public sector-backed business support and sources of finance in one place, acting like a shop window. Businesses will be helped to select the services and support they need by an intuitive search tool that is being developed at the moment. Information on services will be drawn from wide-ranging and dynamic content. The Growth Hub is different to other business support platforms in that it provides the basis for peer-to-peer networking, conversation and collaboration. The strong focus on collaboration and peer-to-peer support will see it develop into a something of exceptional value to business in the North East. Primarily aimed at people in business in the North East, the Growth Hub will be a valuable resource for anyone looking to sustain, develop or grow their business. It will also provide relevant content for business start-ups, private sector business intermediaries and those working to provide SMEs with business support and advice. The North East Growth Hub is a key project outlined in the North East Strategic Economic Plan. It is being delivered with our delivery partners Escher Group, working with North East-based Cobweb Information and The Roundhouse.

4 Delivering strategy through the project call The call is for programme and/or project activity to increase the growth capacity of SMEs, to increase the growth capability of SMEs and to increase entrepreneurship. It will also provide a mechanism for projects to come forward for capital funding to support the development of strategic sites and premises in order to underpin SME growth, competitiveness, business retention and sustainability. The call will support and enhance SME competitiveness in the North East LEP area through: Increasing growth capacity of SMEs and supporting the creation and extension of advanced capacities for products, services and business development, particularly through productivity drivers and strengthened supply chains. Increasing the growth capability of SMEs, supporting SMEs to achieve enhanced levels of trading, productivity and trade and to engage in innovation processes/ Increasing the levels of entrepreneurship and improving levels of start-up activity in order to achieve our strategic priorities for business growth in the North East and strengthen the pipeline of high growth businesses across the LEP area. In relation to capital funds, supporting the development of strategic sites in particular locations where there is evidence of opportunity for economic growth through enhanced SME competitiveness including premises including grow on, incubation and demonstration sites and in support of supply chain growth and growth through inward investment. Purpose and content of the call The call is an integral element of our development of a demand-led business support programme and will provide a strategic, high quality package of business and enterprise support services which assists the creation of more businesses and helps more businesses to grow. The primary aim is to improve the competitiveness of SMEs by increasing the capacity and capability of SMEs and promoting entrepreneurship. The activities to increase growth capacity of SMEs supported through the call will complement measures to improve access to finance, innovation, skills, the growth of the low carbon economy and employability. The call complements business support activities in rural areas funded through EAFRD. The call is for activities that provide coordinated business support to SMEs which, based on identified principals of delivery including mentoring, acceleration and investor readiness: Supports the development and implementation of business growth strategies. Supports domestic and international market penetration and strengthens supply chain growth. Supports productivity drivers which increase the growth capacity of SMEs including the capacity of SMES to engage in innovation processes. Increases entrepreneurial ambition and skills including for social and community enterprise. Supports inward investment. Improves access to skills including digital skills to improve business competitiveness and growth and Encourages take up of superfast broadband to enhance business competitiveness and growth. Specifically, the call will support activities which: Enhance the capacity of SMEs to grow in local, regional, national and international markets, particularly through the provision of coordinated business and enterprise support services for growth, productivity and trade and export. Accelerator, productivity and trade programmes are likely to be critical activities to achieving output and employment gains. Mentoring is likely to feature as a preferred delivery approach. Activities will also strengthen supply chains in domestic and global markets. Develop business s capacity for growth through investor readiness and through technological and business infrastructure improvements. Promote business resilience and embed sustainable business practice and operations. Promote entrepreneurship and improve enterprise skills. Encourage SMEs to engage in innovation processes and facilitate the economic exploitation of new ideas by SMEs. Support capacity and capability gains in social enterprises. Further detail on priority activities Growth and productivity Support for existing businesses to grow, thrive and to boost productivity. This could be through: Acceleration and mentoring approaches which achieve a step change in employment and/or production. Activities which assist private and social businesses to manage the transition from start-up to growth including support to embed entrepreneurial skills and for the development and implementation of business growth strategies. Advice, support and related interventions for existing businesses to boost productivity Support for the development of strong, sustainable and efficient supply chains to take better advantage of globalisation, across sector, through building supplier capability, improving procurement approaches and embedding supply chain resilience and sustainability. Innovation business support including activities for high growth and/or innovative businesses looking to introduce new high value products and services.

5 Activities which integrate development of the business with enterprise learning and skills. Business support services for innovation and idea-to-market support, to both encourage SMEs to engage in innovation processes and to facilitate the economic exploitation of new ideas. Business support services which develop an understanding of business resilience and /or embed resilience planning within broader business development. Trade and export growth Support for trade and export-related activities which generate growth through existing businesses expanding in to new international markets including through export preparation, activities to support skills and people mentoring. Support to mentor businesses at the early stage of the exporting process. Investor Readiness Investor readiness activities to work with smaller, fast growing businesses which require significant investment finance for growth. The investor readiness focus will increase the quality of investment propositions and allow businesses in the North East to access support which increases their ability to develop investment plans which back company expansion. Activities will link to the suite of funds available through JEREMIE2. Entrepreneurship and enterprise Activities which promote entrepreneurship and/or encourage enterprise through self-employment or which increase entrepreneurial ambition and the skills needed to start a business particularly in communities which are currently under represented, including social and community enterprise and in rural areas. Activities which complement and enhance the creation of new firms, including through business support programmes which complement the development of strategic sites. Social enterprise Support for social enterprise including pre-start and start-up guidance and advice, assistance with business planning for social business outcomes, guidance on business development, investor readiness and support for improvements to management capability and capacity. Digital Technologies Support for SMEs to take up and maximise their use of superfast broadband and digital technologies. Further considerations In order that Small and Medium sized enterprises fully exploit advice and support available, SME support needs to be simpler and clearer to access and understand. Therefore, Government and local partners are committed to making it easier for businesses to get the right support, at the right time by: Simplifying the landscape for business support. Focusing on demand-led business support activities. Creating a healthy private and third sector market place. Improving the sign posting and awareness of support advice and support available. A recent review and mapping of business and enterprise support in the North East LEP area (SFEDI, September2014) reported intelligence on business support provision to inform this call. Gaps in business support provision were identified with the resulting recommendations that new programmes of business and enterprise support should: Assist businesses in managing the transition from start-up to growth and in developing an understanding of business resilience. Integrate support for business and enterprise learning and skills development. Facilitate the development of demand-led solutions to business development needs and requirements. Government is working with partners across England to establish a network of business-led Growth Hubs which will integrate access to trade, investment and growth business services. These hubs will provide good links and referral mechanisms for national growth programmes in addition to simplifying information on and access to business support and finance more generally. At the local level, business support will be brought together through the North East Growth Hub the single place where business can go for advice and support.the North East Growth Hub is intended to simplify and rationalise local and national business support services to ensure that more businesses can identify and access appropriate support and finance to help them thrive and grow. The Growth Hub is being co-created with partners and we aspire for business and enterprise support to integrate fully with the Growth Hub. Whilst this encompasses the integration of services and support available across the North East LEP area,it also involves the strengthening of existing relationships between organisations and businesses within the landscape of business support and finance advice. All business support activities taken forward through ERDF funding must integrate fully with the North East Growth Hub.

6 Therefore, in responding to the call for projects, activities should: 1. Demonstrate demand-led need for interventions and demonstrate how they fill identified and evidenced gaps in business and enterprise support provision and remove duplication within the North East LEP area. This includes their alignment with, or response to, the conclusions and recommendations of the mapping of business and enterprise support in the North East LEP region (final report September 2014, SFEDI whatwedo/publications). 2. Evidence how the activities proposed contribute to the simplification of the business and enterprise support landscape in the region (simplification as described in Small Business: GREAT Ambition ). 3. Confirm the integration in full of activities with the North East Growth Hub. 4. Complement existing national business support services which are locally delivered. 5. Implement programme and project activities at a North East LEP wide scale unless it is specified, on an exceptions basis, that activities must be delivered at a different and more appropriate scale for maximum value and impact. Timescales March 2015: Limited set of calls published by the managing authority. In the North East LEP area, these cover innovation, business support, employability and the Youth Employment Initiative. These closed at the end of May. June 2015: Expected date for sign off of ERDF and ESF operational programmes. June 2015: Tranche 1 of Big Lottery Fund opt-in opens calls until 27 July. DWP and SFA timescales to be confirmed. July 2015:Expected date for more comprehensive list of calls in the North East LEP area, with calls covering themes including innovation, business support, low carbon, employability, social inclusion and skills. September 2015: EAFRD calls expected, Sustainable Urban Development strategy due. 2016: Expected launch of JEREMIE 2. Application process The applicant completes an outline application which is submitted to the relevant managing authority via an IT system (note: there have been problems with the Logasnet system so Word documents have been accepted as applications where this has occurred). It may take up to 10 days to register on the IT system. The managing authority then carries out an assessment on application to see if the project meets the basic selection criteria (including compliance and deliverability). In the programme, LEP Area ESIF Committees consider applications for funding and advise the Managing Authority on the suitability of an application s fit with the local priorities inthat LEP area. The LEP Area ESIF Committee will use the outline application to make this judgement. If the outline application is then successful, the applicant will be invited to submit a full application. Priority Axis 3: Enhancing the Competitiveness of SMEs Investment priority 3a: Promoting entrepreneurship, in particular by facilitating the economic exploitation of new ideas and fostering the creation of new firms, including through business incubators. (Specific objective: Increase entrepreneurship, particularly in areas with low levels of enterprise activity and amongst underrepresented groups). Output indicators 1. Number of enterprises receiving support. 2. Number of enterprises receiving financial support other than grants. 3. Number of new enterprises supported. 4. Private investment matching public support to enterprises (non-grants) ( ). 5. Employment increase in supported enterprises (FTE). 6. Number of enterprises supported to introduce new to the market products. 7. Private investment matching public support to enterprises (grants) ( ). 8. Public or commercial buildings built or renovated (square metres). Activities to be supported Targeted engagement, outreach and mentoring to strengthen entrepreneurial and enterprise culture. Provision of advice and support for entrepreneurship and self-employment in particular amongst underrepresented groups by developing entrepreneurial skills and attitudes with a focus on increasing the number of business start-ups. Provision of advice and support for new business start-ups to survive and grow. Support to address market failures in the provision of start-up finance, e.g. seed finance, start-up loans.

7 Outreach, coaching, mentoring, networking and consultancy support to promote business start-up, survival and growth. Grants to support productive investment. Provision of non-grant finance to support start-ups or entrepreneurs where there is a clearly evidenced market failure, for example: early stage growth, equity, quasi-equity, loan or mezzanine funds microloan funds delivered by CDFIs proof of concept funds. Provision of land and premises for employment sites including incubator space, managed workspace, or grow-on space. Investment priority 3c) Supporting the creation and the extension of advanced capacities for products, services and development. (Specific objective: Increase growth capacity of SMEs). Output indicators 1. Number of enterprises receiving support. 2. Number of enterprises receiving financial support other than grants. 3. Number of new enterprises supported. 4. Private investment matching public support to enterprises (grants) ( ). 5. Private investment matching public support to enterprises (non-grants) ( ). 6. Employment increase in supported enterprises (FTE). 7. Number of enterprises supported to introduce new to the firm products. 8. Number of enterprises supported to introduce new to the market products. 9. Public or commercial buildings built or renovated (square metres). Activities to be supported Provision of advice to develop new business models or higher quality products, processes or services. Advice and support for businesses to implement productivity improvements including through the provision of resource efficiency advice. Advice to improve business processes and workforce development. Advice and support for supply chain interventions to strengthen and grow the domestic supplier base. Attracting new FDI into England. Ensuring SMEs have access to sufficient levels of finance to implement their growth plans, including appropriate capital investment for premises and equipment to help build capacity. Provision of advice, consultancy support, mentoring, peer to peer support, and support for collaborative projects Grant finance for business to invest for product, process and service improvements. Provision of non-grant finance where there is a clearly evidenced market failure, for example: Co-investment funds, e.g. for angel investment, venture capital or debt finance; Early strage growth, equity, quasi-equity, loan, guarantees or mezza-nine funds, seed capital; Guarantee funds or interest rate subsidies; Microloan funds delivered by Community Development Finance Institutions; and Proof of concept funds. Provision of independent access to finance advice. Provision of land and premises for employment sides, including incubation space, managed workspace, or grow-on space. Investment priority 3d) Supporting the capacity of SMEs to grow in regional, national and international markets and to engage in innovation processes. (Specific objective: Increase growth capability of SMEs) Output indicators 1. Number of enterprises receiving support. 2. Number of enterprises receiving financial support other than grants. 3. Number of new enterprises supported. 4. Private investment matching public support to enterprises (grants). 5. Private investment matching public support to enterprises (non-grants). 6. Employment increase in supported enterprises (FTEs). 7. Number of enterprises supported to introduce new to the firm products. 8. Public or commercial buildings built or renovated (square metres). Activities to be supported Provision of efficient local referral routes to ensure that SMEs are able to identify and access the most appropriate and tailored support for their specific growth needs. support SMEs to develop focused growth strategies and update or introduce new business models which will drive business performance. Attracting new business investments to England. Advice and support for SMEs to enter, establish and expand in new domestic and international markets Advice and support for businesses to become investment ready. Provision of Advice, consultancy, mentoring and peer-to-peer support to indigenous businesses and inward investors (SMEs from outside the EU who will move to England).

8 For more information visit or Delivering more & better jobs by supporting businesses to invest, grow and prosper