Business support agency London & Partners has expanded its global growth programme to Scotland and the West Midlands first time.
The ‘Grow Global’ initiative will provide more than 100 scaleup businesses with support to increase their international presence.
The one-year programme provides support via trade missions, workshops, events and networking opportunities.
The programme has previously catered to London-based companies but has expanded across the UK for the first time, reflecting the strong tech growth outside of the capital.
From the West Midlands, participating companies include Wolverhampton-based cybersecurity firm Goldilock and Birmingham-based motorcycle manufacturer Maeving.
Among the Scottish businesses participating are allergen tech firm Libereat and property management specialists Pillow Partners.
Support outside the UK capital is being provided via partnerships with the West Midlands Growth Company and Scottish Enterprise
The cohort – which includes London-based cybersecurity scaleup Glasswall – attended a launch event earlier this week in London.
“It’s great to see this successful programme expand to support even more businesses in the UK,” said Howard Dawber, Deputy Mayor of London for Business.
“The Grow Global programme offers a wide array of services, events, and workshops enabling organisations to build their international presence, grow their businesses, and learn how to thrive in the global market.”
The initiative, previously known as the ‘Mayor’s International Business Programme’, has supported over 1,300 London-based companies since it launched in 2016.
“Our Grow Global programme is designed to provide scaleup businesses with the necessary resources, connections, and tools to succeed,” said Janet Coyle CBE, managing director of Grow London at London & Partners.
“By doing so, we hope to promote economic growth and job creation not only in London but also in other regions, in line with the UK government’s plan to transform the UK into a ‘scaleup powerhouse’.”
The Grow Global launch comes a week after Michelle Donelan, the tech secretary, said that supporting scaleups is a key priority for the government.