More than 20 creative businesses have gathered to kick off the East Midlands Create Growth programme.
Cohort 1, made up of firms from across Leicester and Leicestershire, Derby and Derbyshire, Lincoln and Lincolnshire, and Rutland, met recently at Derby Museum and Art Gallery for the programme’s first session.
Create Growth was launched in 2022 by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) in partnership with Innovate UK. It is designed to support the development of creative industries with high-growth potential across England.
Members of the East Midlands’ inaugural cohort will now take part in eight masterclasses, covering themes including leadership, marketing, sales and finance.
They will also be allocated from business-relevant mentors as part of the programme offer.
The 90-minute masterclasses will be delivered by CDI Alliance directors and partners, who have expertise in advising growing businesses.
Participating businesses range from marketing and design agencies and architecture firms, to theatre companies and video producers.
The programme will support 100 creative businesses across three years through four cohort groups. Applications for cohort 2 are expected to be opened soon.
It is aimed at regional creative businesses with high-growth potential which have yet to reach the scaling stage.
The programme is led by East Midlands Creative Consortium (EMC²), with the aim of getting creative businesses investment ready.
EMC² is a community of business support and creative organisations from around the East Midlands.
Members include local authorities, universities, local enterprise partnerships, and many other organisations in the private, public and voluntary sector.
The coalition came together through its successful £1.2m bid for the Government’s Create Growth Programme.
The bid was led by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP).
Learn more about Create Growth
