SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FRIDAY 13th JANUARY 2012

Enticing entrepreneurs

Enticing entrepreneurs to the region

Wouter Schuitemaker, Investment Director at Business Birmingham, explains what support is available for entrepreneurs looking to invest in the Birmingham area:

To stimulate job creation in Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull, it is crucial to attract more entrepreneurial businesses and support those who are already based here. Many of these businesses will be start-ups who have the potential to generate a considerable number of jobs as they grow, as well as helping to support other local companies by becoming business partners - providing industry expertise and strengthening the area’s supply chain. 

Investor offer 

The Birmingham area is already an outstanding location for investors, with a highly successful track record of attracting inward investment; in 2011 Birmingham received £575 million in investment, the most of any regional city in the UK. However, at Business Birmingham – the inward investment programme operated by the city’s strategic marketing partnership, Marketing Birmingham – we are aiming to drive even more investment to the region, generating growth and ultimately creating more jobs. 

Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull have a lot to offer entrepreneurs looking for a location to set up their business, including a skilled workforce and affordable real estate. The area has a £94 billion economy with access to a working population of 4.3 million people and a talent pool of some 97,000 graduates each year. Its transport network is set to be enhanced with infrastructure projects such as the £600 million New Street Gateway and expansion of Birmingham Airport. Birmingham is also establishing a 4G wireless network to deliver super-fast mobile broadband capacity by 2014. 

Supportive business community

Many entrepreneurial companies are already attracted to the area due its local talent, supportive network and sector opportunities, but many more will be enticed by the benefits of the region’s two Enterprise Zones, based in Birmingham and across Darlaston and Wolverhampton. Benefits such as business rate relief will make a real difference to start-ups and give many the boost they need to succeed. 

The considerable business support network available to entrepreneurs looking to invest in Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull includes two Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), a growing number of Business Improvement Districts, two Chambers of Commerce and the Visit and Meet Birmingham campaigns coordinated by Marketing Birmingham – which promote the area’s visitor economy, including business tourism and events. 

This network now includes the Birmingham Business Hub, which will provide expertise and support for existing entrepreneurs as well as those looking to move to the area. Seven organisations across Birmingham are co-locating at Baskerville House to form the Hub – Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, Marketing Birmingham, Finance Birmingham, Birmingham Forward, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group, Aston Reinvestment Trust and Birmingham City Council.  

More than 80 commercial organisations have also partnered with Business Birmingham, with the business community acting as an extended sales force to promote the region at home and abroad. A number of our partners can provide support for potential investors; RSM Tenon, for example, has developed a suite of products tailored to the needs of new investors as they establish and locate in the area. 

Working with both the private and public sectors, we are able to promote the region as a highly attractive business destination with a streamlined and coordinated approach to help investors locate and grow in the area. 

Many businesses that set up in Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull will remain there as they grow and develop into larger enterprises. We must continue to promote the area to entrepreneurs – not only can they immediately bring jobs to the region, but they have the potential to generate significant new employment opportunities over the long-term.