The country is facing the largest change in the business support landscape for the past 20 years and NEN’s Manifesto for Change in Enterprise Support is calling on the country’s leaders to unlock the UK’s growth potential by ensuring co-ordinated support for start-up, micro and small businesses.
Originally launched at NEN’s conference last Autumn, NEN’s Manifesto for Change in Enterprise Support aims to find collaborative solutions to resolving the current fragmentation and confusion around short-term funding.
The recent NEN Business Barometer revealed that 99% of start-ups and small businesses require immediate support and advice as well as being in need of financial support.
NEN’s Manifesto for Change identifies the key Pillars of Challenges as:
1. Access to Finance – Many businesses with great potential can’t access the finance they need to grow; barriers are especially acute for firms led by women, black and minority ethnic entrepreneurs, with complex needs or in areas of higher deprivation.
2. Access to advice and guidance – greater access for start-up, micro and small businesses to local, community-based agencies such as NEN members who can offer targeted early-stage business advice and have a framework of business support principles to ensure consistency of offer.
3. Supporting underrepresented Groups – research including NEN’s own Added Value Across Enterprise Support demonstrates the value of encouraging enterprise from underrepresented groups. Many NEN members are specialist agencies that work with people with additional barriers into self-employment. They are able to support underrepresented entrepreneurs to imagine, launch and grow sustainable and impactful businesses through tailored support, community and partnerships.
NEN is currently working with a range of likeminded organisations to highlight the concerns and show that there is an existing network of embedded organisations that can deliver an enterprise strategy across England.
Please contact Carol Daniels for more information and access to the document: carol.daniels@nationalenterprisenetwork.org