University of Warwick Science Park's Business Ready programme will continue to support Warwickshire's tech-based businesses.
Warwickshire County Council agreed to increase its investment into the Business Ready programme following the loss of government funding.
Now in its 10th year of delivery, Business Ready has helped thousands of SMEs since it was launched 2016. The programme provides bespoke support to innovative and ambitious SMEs with potential to scale, helping them access funding, benefit from one-to-one mentoring, receive finance management guidance, and participate in skills development workshops.
Business Ready is delivered by University of Warwick Science Park on behalf of Warwickshire County Council. It is part of the Warwickshire Business Growth Service and funded by Warwickshire County Council and UK Government.
Councillor Rob Howard, Portfolio Holder for Economy at Warwickshire County Council, said:
“We are committed to supporting our local businesses and our additional investment into the Business Ready programme means that many more local tech-based businesses can access the dedicated and tailored advice to help them grow and develop.
“We have a long-standing partnership with the University of Warwick Science Park that we are delighted to continue and I look forward to seeing the achievements of the programme and our local businesses as they grow, create new jobs and support our regional economy.”
Ian McFarlane-Toms, Business Ready Programme Manager, said:
“Working with SMEs has been a passion of mine since 2006.”
“We have helped create many hundreds of jobs, facilitated grant, debt and equity raises, and contributed to the success of so many businesses. Really, it is crazy to reflect on how much we have achieved over this past decade.”
“We have an incredible team of Advisers, each with their own experience and business superpower, and we bring that combined energy and talent to help the businesses owners and management teams we work with to focus on the things that will really drive success.”
Business Ready supports high growth businesses across many sectors, from deep-tech and biotech, from digital enablers to creative and media, through to sustainability technology, to name but a few. The programme offers bespoke support based on in-depth discovery meetings with founders, digging deep to discover the impediments to growth, and followed by tailored guidance from business growth advisers and subject matter specialists.
David Patrykowski, founder of Backona, said:
"Backona had just 5 users when I first started working with Business Ready. Now we have reached 1,000, and the growth rate is only accelerating. Without your support, I might still be struggling to reach my first 100 users, and we all know those early ones are always the hardest to gain. So a big thank you to the entire team for supporting me along the way."
The Business Ready programme is open now for applications from Warwickshire-based tech companies looking to accelerate their growth. To apply for support, call +44 (0)24 7632 3000, email businessready@uwsp.co.uk or visit business-ready.co.uk.
To find out about other support available via the Warwickshire Business Growth Service, visit: business.warwickshire.gov.uk.