Leeds LEP launches SME growth service

THE Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership launched a growth service for SMEs in the region yesterday at Google’s Digital Garage at Leeds Docks.

Government-funded support for business is available to businesses in the Leeds City Region, but the issue the LEP is trying to address is that businesses often don’t know what is on offer or how to access support for their growing companies.

The LEP aims to help 20,000 SMEs grow over the next six years.

Google expert Gori Yahaya was there to represent the global internet giant’s interests in supporting regional SMEs in partnership with the LEP, as well as Roger Marsh and Eric Hawthorn, managing director of Radio Design, who is also on the LEP board. 

Mr Marsh said at The Digital Garage: “Productivity gaps are costing the region around £8bn a year, and investment in training and research and development is key to opening up the top range of skills.

“It’s true that we now have more employed in the region than in 2008, but we’ve still got a long way to go.

“We have the largest funding package in the UK, and we want to contribute towards recognising the North’s place as a solution rather than a problem to the economy.

Eric Hawthorn of Radio Design and LEP board member said: “Looking for support takes time.

The idea of the growth service is to address the problem of how to acces support for skills and funding.

“This service will not all be the LEP, we will be more of a conduit, an honest broker connecting people with support services for their business.

We have forensic knowledge of what’s out there and how to connect you with what you need, and the service has been shaped by people who’ve been through the business world, we’re acting as a conduit for the services that are already there.”