A new taskforce has been set up in the North West, to help “ambitious start-ups” in the region.
Wired for Growth is led by KPMG Acceleris and brings together investors, advisors, trade bodies, banks, governing bodies, universities, founders and business leaders, with the aim of helping founders “navigate barriers and identify the opportunities that exist for start-ups.”
To mark its launch, the group has released a report and playbook, to guide leaders through business growth and venture funding.
“Wired for Growth is the North West’s call to arms to scale the innovative companies of the future. Our region has long had all of the ingredients needed to help our start-ups truly stand out on the world stage and thrive. This taskforce brings together key players in the start-up ecosystem to improve the experience of founders in the region and help them to achieve their full potential,” explained Patrick Molyneux, Partner, Head of Products and Partnerships at KPMG Acceleris.
“Our aims and recommendations have been informed by speaking to founders who have experienced challenges, and want to improve the experience for future innovative companies forming in the North West.
“Wired for Growth presents a unique opportunity to take a holistic view of the ecosystem to help close the funding gap for founders. Listening to real experiences and taking that onboard with the expertise of business, academia, investors, governing bodies and advisors offers a proposition in the North West that has not yet been seen, and it sets an example for other regions to follow.
“This is just the beginning and I am looking forward to working with the taskforce to help start-ups in the North West turn into venture scale businesses.”
According to the group, Manchester is home to the 7th largest concentration of tech talent in Europe, with 531 active high growth companies across Manchester and Liverpool. There are 3,415 scale-ups across the North West.
However, just over 38% of companies set up in the North West in 2015 are still active five years later.
It’s this final point where Wired for Growth said it was focusing and its playbook takes founders through the 3 phases of venture scale growth and financing: starting up, raising first equity, and scaling your business.
t also includes a five-point delivery plan that the taskforce said it will drive forward to support the region’s founders.
The full report can be found here.
