Applications sought for scale-up programme cohorts

The University of Derby is encouraging applications for the next cohorts of a management programme, which aims to help businesses scale up.

Help to Grow, which is 90% funded by the Government, was initially introduced to help businesses scale up as the country recovered from the pandemic.

Designed in partnership with the Chartered Association of Business Schools, the scheme supports small and medium sized businesses to boost their business’s performance, resilience, and long-term growth.

The university’s Business School was one of the first in the UK to be selected to deliver the Help to Grow scheme.

Now, it is looking for firms to join its 2023 cohorts, which start in January, March, May and June next year.

The programme is delivered through face-to-face teaching, supported and guided by professional mentors and tutors who have industry knowledge, as well as experience of managing and leading their own businesses.

Among the business owners who have benefited from the programme is Claire MacDonald, of MacMartin (BH).

She joined the Help to Grow programme in July 2021, looking for support with business processes following the rapid expansion of the MacMartin team.

She said: “The programme forced me to take time out of the business to work on it.

“As a business owner, there are always 101 things that need to be done, but this course enabled me to prioritise the development of the business and my own personal growth.

“Each week I took away something, discussed it with the team and implemented it into the business.

“For example, the programme has helped me plan financially for growth. We now know exactly where we need to be before employing more staff and how much capacity we need to hit our financial targets.”

To find out more about Help to Grow visit here.