A new taskforce and report to help startups in the North West to scale up has been called a “call to arms” for founders and business leaders.
Wired for Growth, led by KPMG Acceleris, aims to support founders through the early stages of business growth and investment. The group includes investors, advisors, trade bodies, banks, governing bodies, universities, founders and business leaders.
Its first report and playbook, published today, includes advice for entrepreneurs and recommendations on how the region’s ecosystem can be adopted to better support ambitious founders looking to grow their businesses and create jobs.
It celebrates the potential in the North West. Manchester is home to the 7th largest concentration of tech talent in Europe, while Manchester and Liverpool are together home to 531 active high growth companies.
But it also shows that many companies are failing, with just over 38% of companies set up in the North West in 2015 still being active five years later.
The report says: “Venture scale businesses drive technological innovation, create employment, expand globally and deliver outsized investment returns that can be recycled back into innovation.”
And it includes a five-point delivery plan to support the region’s founders, as the report’s authors felt there was a “lack of awareness amongst founders and educational materials about venture scale growth and financing options”.
KPMG Acceleris led the report, with sponsorship from HSBC UK, Manchester Digital, North West Business Leadership Team, YFM Equity Partners and London Stock Exchange.
Most Read
Patrick Molyneux, partner and head of products and partnerships at KPMG Acceleris, said: “Wired for Growth is the North West’s call to arms to scale the innovative companies of the future. Our region has long had all of the ingredients needed to help our start-ups truly stand out on the world stage and thrive. This taskforce brings together key players in the start-up ecosystem to improve the experience of founders in the region and help them to achieve their full potential.
“Our aims and recommendations have been informed by speaking to founders who have experienced challenges, and want to improve the experience for future innovative companies forming in the North West.
“Wired for Growth presents a unique opportunity to take a holistic view of the ecosystem to help close the funding gap for founders. Listening to real experiences and taking that onboard with the expertise of business, academia, investors, governing bodies and advisors offers a proposition in the North West that has not yet been seen, and it sets an example for other regions to follow.
“This is just the beginning and I am looking forward to working with the taskforce to help start-ups in the North West turn into venture scale businesses.”
Don't miss the latest news and analysis with our regular North West newsletters - sign up here for free.