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Media & Events > Greater Manchester’s partnership with BigBooster supercharges the city region’s international ambitions1 October 2020
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Advanced Manufacturing, Creative, Digital & Technology, Financial, Professional & Business Services, Life Science & Healthcare
Start-ups and scale-ups in Greater Manchester looking to expand globally can receive support to achieve their goals thanks to a new partnership between GC Business Growth Hub and international accelerator BigBooster.
The arrangement is the first of its kind for Lyon-based BigBooster in the UK since it was established in 2015 with the aim of accelerating growth and international expansion of promising early-stage businesses
In its first five years BigBooster has worked with 278 start-ups from 30 countries and helped raise £74m in funding, leading to the creation of more than 450 jobs. And now, CEOs from Greater Manchester have the opportunity to access this support.
The programme is being delivered virtually this year, starting in November with workshops and ending in Spring 2021 with overseas missions. Applicants can pick their target market for an overseas mission with options to join a delegation to Boston, to support US expansion, amongst other partner cities. For overseas clients looking to expand into the UK, MIDAS will be delivering a mission to Greater Manchester next year, and there are also opportunities to work with GC Trade.
These opportunities for Greater Manchester start-ups offer the chance to develop a network with innovative companies and industry leaders from around the world, sharing expertise and gaining skills and confidence through mentoring and coaching with peers and partners. Internationalisation is a key focus for the city-region and this collaboration supports the Greater Manchester International Strategy by encouraging cross-country research and development, as well as innovation collaboration to develop new solutions for international markets.
Applications are invited from start-ups and scale ups that have an innovative product, service or proof of concept that deliver on one of four social impacts:
Health & Life Sciences – e.g. med/healthtech
Low Carbon & Environmental – e.g. sustainability
Social Impact – e.g. edtech
Productive & Industrial impact – e.g. advanced manufacturing
Richard Jeffery, Director of Business Growth, from GC Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, said:
"This new first-of-its-kind partnership with BigBooster shows just how important internationalisation is for Greater Manchester and our community of start-ups and scale-ups.
“Combined with the services offered across The Growth Company, this is a huge opportunity for businesses with international ambitions to get the support they need to truly go global.”
Karine Daugnin Sauze, President of BigBooster Foundation, said:
“We’re proud that BigBooster is strengthening its links with the UK thanks to Greater Manchester. This programme will enhance the links between our two European metropolises of Lyon and Manchester.”
Tim Newns, Chief Executive of MIDAS, said:
“This is an incredible opportunity not just for the high growth start-ups and scale-ups that secure a place on the coveted programme, but for Greater Manchester as the only UK partner city. The themes of the BigBooster accelerator align perfectly with the city region’s core sectors and growth areas, as well as its ambitious low carbon and digital agendas; which will provide participating firms with outstanding market opportunity should they decide to internationalise in Greater Manchester.
“Through our involvement in this programme, and as a top tier city for foreign direct investment, we hope to help numerous international companies establish operations in the city region.”
Start-up and scale-up businesses looking to expand globally can find out more about the BigBooster programme and apply via the Big Booster website. The deadline for applications is 8 October 2020.
Businesses looking to access specialist support can visit the Business Growth Hub website for more information about the organisation’s extensive range of services. This and other GC Business Growth Hub projects are part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the GM Business Growth Hub project designed to help ambitious SME businesses achieve growth and increase employment in Greater Manchester. The Hub is also supported by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Greater Manchester local authorities.
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