The first full cohort of 20 entrepreneurs and business owners has taken part in the Growth Advantage Programme (GAP) this month, which has been developed by the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde Business School in partnership with Santander. The 10-month programme is the first of its kind in Scotland and will combine research-based 'useful learning', delivered by the University's academics, with useful insight from some of Scotland's most influential entrepreneurs, including Sir Tom Hunter.
GAP is designed for managing directors or chief executives of businesses turning over at least £500,000 and experiencing significant year-on-year growth. Consisting of five workshop sessions, covering business critical areas including resources, marketing and operations, GAP gives participants the opportunity to learn how to grow their business further while building relationships and expanding their network.
The cost of taking part in the innovative programme is heavily subsidised by Santander through Breakthrough, its SME support programme. Breakthrough is for businesses with an annual turnover of between £500,000 and £50 million, and aims to help companies realise their potential in order to create jobs and stimulate supply-chain demand.
John Anderson, Director of the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, said, "This is the first time that business owners in Scotland will be able to combine relevant structured learning with peer learning, and we’re proud to be delivering it in partnership with Santander.
"We want to help owners take a step back from the daily demands of their business to focus on the best tactics for growing it. We’re confident that during the next 10 months, our first 20 participants will begin to reap the benefits of this approach.
"Nearly two thirds of the cohort are the founders of their businesses with the remainder split between the leaders of multi generation family businesses and entrepreneurs who have purchased their businesses. Participants come from all over Scotland and represent a wide range of sectors with a majority operating in manufacturing and product development and over half are already operating internationally. The 20 companies have an average turnover of over £2 million and employ 20 people on average and all participants have ambition to scale their businesses, demonstrating the importance of these companies to their communities and to the economy of Scotland. The make-up of the cohort perfectly matches the work of the Hunter Centre in promoting entrepreneurship as the growth and scaling of businesses - whether started from scratch, inherited or bought."
Reasons cited for wanting to join the Growth Advantage Programme included: strengthening and broadening personal leadership skills; developing increased strategic thinking; acquiring new skills and knowledge; benchmarking existing capabilities and developing clear strategies and plans for growth. The participants will be able to take a step back from the day-to-day demands of scaling their business to focus on these issues. The combination of practical structured learning and peer support has been designed to create a learning environment that participants will gain most from and encourages them to immediately apply new skills and knowledge to their own firms thus creating real-time results.
The launch of GAP last month coincided with Strathclyde extending its formal partnership with Santander Universities UK for another three years. Originally launched in 2011, the partnership has already seen Santander provide a significant six-figure sum in funding support to Strathclyde.
The funding includes support for the University’s wider enterprise and entrepreneurial activities including the Strathclyde into Business Fund which provides students with practical business ideas with small start-up grants of up to £500. Since its launch, the partnership has also provided 69 SME internships for Strathclyde students and graduates to gain real-world business experience.
Strathclyde's Principal, Professor Sir Jim McDonald, said, "We are delighted to be extending this important partnership with Santander Universities, which underlines their commitment to higher education. The new agreement will allow us to provide more student scholarships and further enhance the support we provide to our students in the areas of enterprise and entrepreneurial activity."
Graham Silcock, Regional Director for Scotland, Santander Corporate & Commercial, said, "It is great to see Scotland’s SMEs growing, hiring and investing for the future. Scotland has a strong business base, with some exceptional firms increasing their presence locally, across the UK and internationally.
“We are delighted to be working alongside the University of Strathclyde to support such SMEs and also students who aspire to run their own businesses in the future."