Government launches new fund to support small business growth
On Tuesday 26 June DBEIS launched a new £8 million fund to boost the productivity and performance of small businesses in England. However, there will only be £2 million available in the first call under the Business Basics Fund. If you have a small business, apply ASAP, as the £2 million isn’t even a drop in the ocean.Details about the funding, the application process and further guidance is available from the Innovation Funding Service. The new fund is to help small businesses adopt tried and tested technologies. By encouraging more businesses to take advantage of leading technologies, management practices and business support services – such as cloud computing, mobile technology and e-purchasing – the government hopes that productivity will increase in the SME sector UK business technology adoption levels are close to the EU average but far behind the front-runners, lagging nearly a decade behind the Danes. The Business Basics Fund will test new and innovative ways of supporting small businesses to take advantage of technologies and management practices. Every little helps as they say, but if the government are really interested in SME’s, and there is scant evidence of this to date, they will need to sharpen their pencil and find a lot more money and address the deluge of regulation that is swamping small businesses.
