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How Innovate UK EDGE supports businesses with its Scaleup Programme

The Scaleup Week was led by the Business Growth Fund (BGF) with the ScaleUp Institute with the support of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, and the Prime Minister’s Build Back Better Council.

Scaleups are UK wide growth champions, that generate a total turnover of £1.1trn and have an average turnover of £32.6m per scaleup. In addition, they employ 3.2 million people, with an average of 96 employees per scaleup and an average turnover per employee of £338k. With 78% located outside of London, these scaleups are highly productive, innovative and international – making up 50% of the UK’s SME economy.

As business support specialists, we deliver Innovate UK EDGE in the East of England. Delivering growth at scale is at the heart of Innovate UK’s emerging strategy for business innovation in the UK. Innovate UK EDGE is a key enabler of this strategic priority and through the Scaleup Programme helps the highest potential businesses realise their ambitions.

The Innovate UK EDGE Scaleup Programme provides one-to-one, bespoke, and fully funded support centred around innovative scaleups’ specific needs. The programme can benefit SMEs who are driven by a disruptive innovation and have ambitions to expand into existing and/or international markets. The programme features a board of high-calibre ‘Scaleup Directors’ who provide a matrix of skills and connectivity across domains including finance, M&A, international markets, IP, supply chains, scale up leadership and talent management.

At Exemplas, we have two Innovate UK EDGE Scaleup Directors, Emma Douglas-Beet and Charles Ward. Emma has over 20 years’ experience in supporting innovative businesses. She has supported founders to launch, scale and grow innovations, guiding them to secure over £20m equity funding from Angels, funds, and crowdfunding platforms. Charles has over 30 years’ commercial experience across a variety of industry sectors and has been coaching and mentoring businesses since 2014. Charles applies business design thinking in helping clients create fit-for-purpose business models for rapid growth. 

Emma Douglas-Beet, Scaleup Director, Innovate UK EDGE East of England comments:

“I have already started working with some very interesting companies across the country.  One of my key skills is preparing companies for equity fundraising, so there is no shortage of need in this area for these fast-growing organisations…We want to help companies in the East of England access this fabulous support and I’m always happy to talk to anyone about how we can assist these companies that are on their own scaling journey.”

Innovate UK EDGE client Eric Che, Technical Director for RenaClinical Ltd. highlights the benefits of the Scaleup Programme:

“With the help of the Scaleup Directors, we have mapped out a strategic marketing plan to facilitate continual growth. We are very much looking forward to our journey of growth in partnership with the Scaleup Programme.”