A free online workshop for small and medium-sized businesses and scale-ups in Coventry to explore funding opportunities to help their growth will be staged next week.
Industry experts will be giving advice and information at the workshop, which takes place from 9.30am until midday on Tuesday, December 12, to help entrepreneurs strengthen their understanding of business finance and find out more about the funding options currently available.
The Investment Readiness Virtual Workshop is being run by C&W Business Solutions, part of the CW Growth Hub Group, and is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, on behalf of the West Midlands Combined Authority and Business Growth West Midlands.
Senior representatives from the British Business Bank, Midven, Coventry City Council Economic Development Service, Turnkey and Business Ready will be passing on their wealth of knowledge and advice as part of the first phase of the Coventry Investment Readiness Programme to start-ups, early-years high growth SMEs and scale-ups in the city.
Around 35 businesses attended the first workshop last month, which attracted companies at various stages of growth who were looking for funding to move their firm to the next level.
Lash Saranna, co-founder and CEO of Coventry firm, Electric Zoo, who attended the first workshop, said: “Having been involved with Justine and the team in various guises since 2017, I felt the Investment Readiness Event was probably the most engaging event I have attended. This is the kind of support start-ups in Coventry have required and now it feels like we have people who want to deliver the support and make it happen in Coventry.”
Justine Chadwick, high growth business specialist at Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, will be running the workshop once again and she will be working with businesses who will be going forward to stage two of the programme next year. She said: “The first workshop was over-subscribed which underlines the need for this kind of fact-finding session to uncover information about the help that is available in our region.
“Business finance can appear daunting but there is a great deal of guidance – if you know where to find it – and that’s where the experts we have lined up will prove invaluable.
“I would encourage Coventry-based businesses interested in accessing the intensive support that is available through this programme to attend the online workshop to improve their prospects of securing external investment.
“This is the last workshop before the next phase which focuses on mentoring and individual support and it is a requirement of the Investment Readiness programme to have completed the phase one information and advice sessions.”
Topics that will be covered in the free online workshop will include debt finance, asset finance, finding and applying for grants, equity and venture capital, angel investors and crowdfunding, and pitch decks.
Paul Edwards, head of economic development and delivery at the West Midlands Combined Authority, added: “It’s often confusing for businesses how to properly go about securing funding for their growth plans.
“We’re really delighted that Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub, working closely with a range of local and regional experts, are demystifying external finance and helping Coventry businesses get ready for the next stage in their growth journey.”
To be eligible for the free workshop, businesses must be economically active and based in Coventry. To book, please register on the Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub website here.
The Investment Readiness programme is also available to businesses in the Black Country and Greater Birmingham and Solihull, with Oxford Innovation Advice delivering the programme in those areas. Businesses in these areas should visit the Business Growth West Midlands website here.
