Turning a good idea into a successful product or service takes time, expertise, investment and the right connections. For many innovative businesses, regardless of sector, those are exactly the things in shortest supply.
That challenge – and Greater Manchester’s response to it – will be at the heart of the GM Innovation Expo on 21 October. Building on the success of last year’s GM Innovation Summit, this new-look flagship event underlines the city-region's commitment to creating the best possible conditions to stimulate innovation and help businesses get the support they need to grow.
Greater Manchester is recognised nationally as a leading example of how the public, private and academic sectors can work together to provide a connected route from research and development through testing and validation to investment, commercialisation and market adoption.
This commitment has attracted national recognition and investment, leading to Greater Manchester’s selection as one of only three high-potential UK innovation clusters to pilot the pioneering Innovation Accelerator programme. This alone brought £43 million into the region, while a further £50 million from the Local Innovation Partnerships Fund is now backing work in AI, advanced materials, manufacturing and life sciences.
For businesses, such investment translates into greater availability of funding, technical expertise, state-of-the-art facilities, and research partners. All well and good, but what do you do if you don’t know how to connect to these resources?
Joining the dots at the heart of this thriving innovation ecosystem sits GM Business Growth Hub, which has supported more than 100,000 start-ups, scale-ups and established firms since 2011. The Hub's Innovation Service provides practical input that de-risks development, helps attract investment and speeds up the route to commercialisation – meaning that businesses do not need to understand the entire innovation landscape before asking for help.
“That support looks different for every business,” says Yvonne Grady, Director of Innovation and Digitisation at GM Business Growth Hub. “Our role is to understand the challenge, connect the business with the right funding and expertise, and provide the practical support needed to turn an idea into a commercial opportunity.”
Take the example of Wigan-based Smith Bullough, a 150-year-old manufacturer that is using AI to improve the quality and consistency of its products. The company received almost £20,000 in grant support across two phases of its project: £9,000 towards a three-month collaborative R&D project, followed by a £10,400 capital expenditure grant. It expects the resulting innovation to generate around £100,000 in additional sales within 12 months.
“Alongside improving productivity, the project has strengthened our product offering and opened up opportunities with new customers and markets,” said Richard Garton, Director. “It’s also helped us bring new knowledge into the business and create a new role as demand grows. The support we received has made a real difference.”
Then there is Tameside start-up Sineco, founded by musician and producer Ben Etches, who was playing at Glastonbury not long before embarking on his new business venture. Through GM Business Growth Hub, Sineco accessed £40,000 in innovation grant funding plus guidance to build the technical and commercial foundations for its ambition of becoming a global leader in adaptive audio – technology that allows music to respond in real time to what the listener’s body and mind are doing. Sineco is targeting 50,000 users by 2027 and plans to create eight new jobs to support its growth.
“Smith Bullough and Sineco are just two of the thousands of Greater Manchester businesses using funding, expertise and connections to take their innovations forward,” says Yvonne Grady. “Their stories demonstrate what can happen when businesses can find the right support without having to navigate through their challenges alone.”
Join hundreds of innovators and business leaders at Manchester Central for GM Innovation Expo. See the innovations shaping Greater Manchester and beyond for yourself, meet the people behind them and take fresh inspiration back to your business. Register here to be part of it.
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