West Midlands Create Growth Programme
- Does your business have creativity at its heart – design, fashion, architecture, film, broadcast, createch, gaming, immersive, publishing, music, theatre, art, heritage, craft or media?
- Are you operating in the West Midlands Combined Authority area?*
- Do you need help building your confidence as a founder to make decisions on investment, IP, business structures and growth plans?
*Priority will be given to businesses trading or registered within one of the following areas: Birmingham, Solihull, Sandwell, Dudley, Coventry, Walsall, Wolverhampton. We will also consider applicants from certain wider region areas, however a smaller proportion of businesses will be selected from these areas: East Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Tamworth, North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rugby, Warwick, Stratford-on-Avon, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Wyre Forest.
Get Investment Ready
Get Investment Ready is designed to support creative businesses like yours. The programme will help you to develop the skills to secure investment so that you can achieve your ambitions for company growth. It is tailored to the needs of different creative disciplines, their respective markets, governance and distribution models.
Stage 1
Stage 1 application deadline: Monday 1st April
Stage 1 activity will begin in May 2024.
Stage 1 has been designed for businesses who want to grow and explore commercial investment pathways. Over six months, you will be placed in a cohort of businesses with access to: a course of workshops designed to unlock your commercial capacity and describe routes to investment and growth; two one-to-one mentoring sessions to define and refine your business ambitions; access to the Ethical Equity Simulator – a unique piece of software that enables users to learn about the different types of investment from a practical point of view. Stage 1 closes with a diagnostic session with investment mentors to help you plan the next steps on your investment journey.
Stage 2
Stage 2 application deadline: Monday 4th March
Stage 1 activity will begin in April 2024.
Stage 2 is an intensive investment readiness programme for businesses who are ambitious to get commercial investment. Over nine months, you will receive: on-going one-to-one mentoring to address your challenges and craft a bespoke nine-month journey for your business; a course of workshops covering business foundations and sector-specific challenges; opportunities to meet and pitch to investors.
Stage 1
Stage 1 application deadline: Monday 1st April
Stage 1 activity will begin in May 2024.
Stage 1 has been designed for businesses who want to grow and explore commercial investment pathways. Over six months, you will be placed in a cohort of businesses with access to: a course of workshops designed to unlock your commercial capacity and describe routes to investment and growth; two one-to-one mentoring sessions to define and refine your business ambitions; access to the Ethical Equity Simulator – a unique piece of software that enables users to learn about the different types of investment from a practical point of view. Stage 1 closes with a diagnostic session with investment mentors to help you plan the next steps on your investment journey.
Stage 2
Stage 2 application deadline: Monday 4th March
Stage 1 activity will begin in April 2024.
Stage 2 is an intensive investment readiness programme for businesses who are ambitious to get commercial investment. Over nine months, you will receive: on-going one-to-one mentoring to address your challenges and craft a bespoke nine-month journey for your business; a course of workshops covering business foundations and sector-specific challenges; opportunities to meet and pitch to investors.