A catalyst for business growth with a proven track record
Through its Industrial Strategy and support for innovation, sustained economic growth in every part of the United Kingdom is the number one mission of the government. SMEs are the backbone of the economy, and Ngage has a long history of delivering projects aimed at supporting the development of businesses so they can grow and meet their potential.
Encouraging business owners to spend valuable time working on strategic plans instead of focusing on day-to-day challenges reaps significant economic rewards, especially when the organisation is given the leadership and direction so often needed. Ngage's Growth support provides that sounding board and catalyst for economic growth for SME business owners.
Hear Shailesh Patel a Growth Advice Recipient discuss how this advice really made a difference to Lynam Pharma.
Rumsey’s Chocolaterie in Wendover, Buckinghamshire was initially set up by Nigel Rumsey in his home kitchen in Aylesbury, and has been trading for nearly twenty years.
Delilah Cosmetics, based in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, is a cruelty-free, vegan-friendly cosmetic brand with principles, registered with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
"The information and advice gathered from this programme and the ability to share with other business owners is priceless."
- Pany Yianni, Yianni Motors Ltd
"[The Growth Programme] has again delivered beyond its original remit. Almost all beneficiary businesses (98%) have taken at least one action towards growing their business as a result of the programme, collectively attributing an increase in forecasted turnover of £43 million and a forecasted £15 million in GVA.”
- Independent evaluation of the Growth Programme by Winning Moves
"The Growth Programme has been extremely helpful for me to grow my business and navigate difficult tasks or roadblocks."
- Luke Merrilees, Niclen UK
"The Growth Programme has helped me to formulate the business plan and crystalise my ideas as to how to grow the business and move forward positively."
- Amanda Carthy, QueenMee
The Visit Buckinghamshire: Boost project supported the recovery of the hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors in Buckinghamshire during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was achieved by helping businesses and their employees through several key areas of activity:
Community Renewal Fund, HM Government and Buckinghamshire Council
Despite the challenging circumstances in which the programme was delivered, the programme successfully met almost all of its targets and over-delivered on several key outcomes, while we were able to reach and support some businesses that had not received business support before.
Key support outcomes:
The Visit Buckinghamshire: Boost project was delivered and branded under 5 key areas:
A successful marketing campaign enabled us to get the attention of businesses in the target sector, with social media activity, email campaigns, podcasts, local radio features, and magazine advertising among the activity.
Attracting individuals such as Simon Calder (journalist and broadcaster) and Juliet Kinsman (travel writer, sustainability expert and broadcaster) to the initial launch event helped to raise the profile of the programme.
The creation of the online Net Zero Collaboration Circle for businesses in Buckinghamshire was well-received and will prove useful moving forwards in our aim of creating a net zero Buckinghamshire economy. The Collaboration Circle was developed to facilitate discussions amongst businesses with a shared ambition to reach net zero. The group, which is growing all the time and currently includes over 80 businesses, is used to pool knowledge, resources, and ideas. On the same theme, a net zero-focused episode of our Talking Heads podcast explained clearly and concisely how businesses can measure and reduce their carbon emissions and what support is available to help them do it.
Thanks to work carried out for the programme, new guidance designed by experts in accessibility and inclusive practice is now available for businesses on the Visit Buckinghamshire website. The guides, developed in collaboration with Buckinghamshire Disability Service (BuDS), help businesses become more confident about providing services to disabled people and their family and friends. Complementing this guidance is the new Accessibility Hub, also on the Visit Buckinghamshire website, which provides visitors to Buckinghamshire with an easy way to identify the accessible destinations in the county, along with inspiration and ideas about places to stay, eat and visit.
Among the events delivered throughout the course of the programme was a Talent Showcase which brought together Bucks College Group students and local and national employers in the tourism, hospitality and leisure sector. Businesses were also provided with support in their attempts to diversify and innovate through a series of workshops that were followed up with 1-2-1 advice.
Over six years, the Growth Programme has become the cornerstone of the business support landscape in Buckinghamshire.
In providing the stimulus for economic growth in a way that is aligned with the governments strategy to remove barriers and deliver sustainable economic growth, the support has created employment, enabled exciting innovations, greatly boosted business turnover, and increased the GVA of the local economy.
By delivering tangible results for businesses and contributing to overall economic development, the Growth Programme plays a crucial role in driving success and prosperity wherever support is needed.
Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities/ERDF
By June 2023, the Growth Programme will have supported approximately 625 businesses and delivered 116 Covid Restart Grants. This includes businesses from deprived wards, female-owned businesses, and businesses run by people from ethnic backgrounds.
Highlights of the support outcomes:
Enhancing the support provision already provided by Buckinghamshire Business First, the Growth Programme delivers either grants (£1,000-£5,000) or bespoke one-to-one business advice, access to exclusive masterclasses and peer-to-peer sessions to local SMEs with growth potential.
This includes the expertise of Growth Advisers who assist business leaders in building confidence and acquiring new skills in areas such as finance, digital marketing and strategic planning. Furthermore, the programme encourages collaboration and knowledge sharing through peer-to-peer support, recognising the value of learning from and supporting fellow business leaders.
Specialised LEAN workshops for manufacturers provided tailored guidance to ensure optimal efficiency throughout businesses’ work protocols.
Those running the programme continuously listen to, adapt to and reflect the needs of business owners, proven by the impressive outcomes and high satisfaction ratings (91% satisfied with the outcome; 93% satisfied with the service; 88% likely to recommend the support).
An independent evaluation report found that participants in the Growth Programme would value further support from the programme in order to continue their development. With over 31,000 businesses in Buckinghamshire, of which 91% are micro businesses who are shown to be the main recipients of this support, there are clearly many other businesses that would benefit from the Growth Programme or similar support in the future.
With the ending of European funding, the continuity of an alternative high intensity support programme is key to the economic growth of small businesses in Buckinghamshire. This economically vital support should be continued seamlessly so that local businesses can continue to thrive and grow.
25 businesses supported in total · From its first inception in 2017, the MD Ngage programme ran for a total of 7 years, delivering peer-to-peer networking and support for business leaders with growth ambitions. The surveys undertaken after each event have shown that 93.67% of members rated MD Ngage ‘Excellent’ overall up to the end of March 2021.
“This is the best money I spend in a year! It backfills what we’re supposed to know already when running a business and broadens our horizons to take our businesses forward.”
Sean O’Farrell, Choice Business Loans
Members met 10 times per year, usually at each other’s business premises, for a full day’s immersive session. This included an inspirational, interactive speaker slot in the morning, followed by a business challenges session in the afternoon. Each year culminated with a two-day retreat which provided the opportunity to reinforce topics covered during the year and to refresh and reset, leaving with new insights and a fresh perspective.
The full benefit of being a member of the MD Ngage group was demonstrated as participants regularly connected between meetings, using their expertise to support other members of the group. WhatsApp groups that were in place for both groups became extremely valuable tools as members offered their support to their peers within their field of expertise e.g. solicitors, accountants, commercial property agents were able to quickly interpret messages coming out through government and offer support on questions raised.
To add a further level of support during COVID-19, the group Chair held additional weekly online ‘check-in’ sessions with the group which were reported to be extremely valuable during the fast-changing climate. During the 2020/21 programme we allowed members to invite guests from their business to the speaker sessions. This enabled the intelligence gained to be shared with another member of the business, allowing further discussion after the event and possible implementation within the organisation.
Since September 2023 the group has been listening, thinking and working together guided by the idea of “Learning Together for Growth”, hearing from a wide range of speakers who have brought their knowledge, ideas and experience to challenge thinking and extend learning and ideas.
Peer Ngage was an online programme for both business owners and senior managers that enabled them to invest in themselves and the business they worked for. By building a collaborative network, members were able to grasp opportunities to grow in a friendly, professional and confidential environment. With access to inspirational speaker sessions online, meetings with the Buckinghamshire Business First team on multiple occasions to embed learning and actions and face-to-face networking events, the programme facilitated opportunities to learn and benefit from collective experience.
22 businesses were supported in total. From its start in 2022, the Peer Ngage programme delivered peer-to-peer networking and support for senior managers. The surveys undertaken after each event have shown that 100% of participants who completed the survey this year rated the sessions as either “Good” or “Excellent” and would recommend the programme to another business leader. Participants reported that they were anticipating an increase in profitability, productivity and turnover following the completion of the programme.
“If someone was thinking of joining Peer Ngage, I would say absolutely. Find that time, it’s only a few hours a month, but you’ll get a lot of value.”
- Janet Fricker, Delilah Cosmetics
“How to be a leader, how to deal with people, how to get the best out of them, how to make strategic decisions- that's not easily taught. The Peer Ngage programme does that!
- Sean O’Farrell, Choice Business Loan
Business owners and senior managers were matched with peers in groups and were guided by knowledgeable and experienced facilitators, so they were supported to grow alongside the business. Topics covered included social media expertise, how to be more productive, an introduction to the ‘thinking environment’, understanding the ‘employee lifecycle’, creating a coaching environment in your business, the customer journey, and looking at your business model. WhatsApp groups offered members direct access to their peers within their field of expertise so members could share best practice and offer support on questions raised.
The allocation of 120 grants of between £1000-£3000 to businesses with a minimum turnover of £50,000. These grants funded activity as a direct response to the impact of COVID-19. Activity included; accessing specialist consultancy or professional advice, the purchase of minor equipment or technology, adapting existing technology in order to continue to deliver business activity, diversification.
MHCLG
116 businesses supported · £307,369 grants delivered · 76 jobs created · 89 new products/services created
Peer Networks is a national peer-to-peer networking programme for SME leaders that want to grow and develop their organisation for future success, enabling them to make connections that go far beyond networking.
BEIS
110 businesses supported · 84 jobs created · 36 new products/services created
We created diverse cohort groups of individuals to collaboratively work through common business issues through a series of virtual high impact group sessions, with a trained facilitator.