More than 100 businesses from the West Midlands - all graduates of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme - came together in Birmingham to discuss the challenges and opportunities for small businesses in the region.
Meeting with the mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street and others from the small business ecosystem in Birmingham (including Henrietta Brealey, CEO of the Greater Birmingham British Chambers of Commerce), the event was an opportunity for small business leaders to discuss the barriers to business growth and what SMEs need to succeed.
The Generation Growth: Birmingham City Summit followed the publication of research in February by the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small businesses programme, which found that despite a boom in the number of small businesses around the UK, including in the West Midlands, fewer were able to achieve productive growth – increasing revenue and headcount at the same time.
During the Generation Growth event, a survey of high growth potential businesses in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme was also released. The survey found that West Midlands businesses are very positive about their potential to grow; 93% expect their revenue to grow in the next three years and 89% expect to increase their headcount.
Asked about their priorities for Government, West Midlands businesses said they want to see a greater focus on upskilling the workforce (30%), reforming business rates (24%), improving access to finance (11%) and making it easier to trade internationally (11%).
In addition, more than half (56%) of West Midlands businesses also said that they want the Government to focus on improving digital infrastructure rather than physical infrastructure.
Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street said: “Business investment has recovered really well - our R&D and innovation spending is second best in the country behind London and South East. Our inward investment story too, with global brands choosing to back the West Midlands, has been very positive. We are now easily the second strongest after London, overtaking the rest of the South East.
“Businesses here have shown incredible resilience and there is lots of evidence of a strong bounce back. Our exports are now back ahead of where they were in 2019. Last year alone, there was over 20% growth in exports in this region.
“Our plan for growth is about deciding which of the sectors, the clusters, where we’re going to be brilliant, not just against Manchester and Liverpool but against Berlin and Barcelona and even Boston. So we choose those areas where we’re going to be brilliant and focus on them.”
Charlotte Keenan, head of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme, a free business education programme for high potential businesses in the UK, said: “The West Midlands has a growing and vibrant small business ecosystem. However, like businesses across the country, many are finding it hard to scale.
"If we want to realise the region’s enormous potential, we need to pay more attention to what small businesses say they need to grow. In the West Midlands, the companies in our 10,000 Small Businesses programme are calling for support to access the right talent and upskill their workforce, business rate reform, and easier access to finance.”
Gurjit Jagpal, head of Goldman Sachs Birmingham, said: “The West Midlands is a critical part of the UK economy. That’s why we are proud to have successfully established our office in Birmingham and why we’re holding this event to discuss what more can be done to support small business growth in the region.”
Picture credit: Lensi Photography
