New funding deals for entrepreneurs

Thursday 28 November 2019

A new agreement has been made by the States, working with a number of organisations to foster entrepreneurship in the Bailiwick.

The Committee for Economic Development has done a review of its current funding streams and says it will replace the grant previously paid to Startup Guernsey with a new collaboration between the Digital Greenhouse, Agilisys, Barclays Eagle Lab and the Chamber of Commerce.

Startup Guernsey announced the news yesterday, saying it would continue offering support to local entrepreneurs until the end of the year before shutting. 

Pictured: Startup Guernsey has worked with entrepeneurs for 20 years, with the assistance of a States grant. 

The new collaboration will focus on six critical areas:

• Skills development - combining the digital skills programme of the Digital Greenhouse with the new offering from Agilisys as part of the Smart Guernsey economic development programme;
• Growth and investment opportunities - combining the accelerator programmes and networks offered by Agilisys and though Barclays Eagle Labs, one of the lead partners of the Digital Greenhouse;
• Events and business development groups - building on the successful Digital Greenhouse programmes delivered in partnership with business, and working with the Chamber of Commerce's successful programmes and events;
• New entrepreneur pipeline - co-ordinating the resources, expertise and investment of Agilisys, Barclays Eagle Labs and the Digital Greenhouse to support new start-ups across all sectors of the economy;
• Space - developing further the co-working environments at the Digital Greenhouse and the Chamber of Commerce with a new London 'scale space' venue at Imperial College and the Barclays Eagle Lab network; and
• Bespoke support - 1-to-1 support and expert mentoring for start-ups and scale-ups.

Deputy Charles Parkinson, President of the Committee for Economic Development said:

"The Committee promised to work in partnership with private sector expertise, and this innovative new approach is a fantastic example of that. It is a partnership of resources and expertise in the truest sense.

"The Digital Greenhouse offer has developed year on year since it was established in 2016, and the Committee invested £1m of funding from the Future Guernsey Economic Fund for 2019-21 to further develop that offer.

"The enhanced Digital Greenhouse model has been developed to dovetail with the network and expertise provided by Barclays Eagle Labs, whose investment in supporting innovation and entrepreneurialism in Guernsey is having strong benefits for local business.

"Through the Smart Guernsey strategic partnership, the programmes offered by Agilisys and the Blenheim Chalcot family of businesses, of which Agilisys is a member, have also been developed to complement and enhance the overall entrepreneurship offer, and this is a very exciting development.

"Finally I am delighted that we are also working closely with the Chamber of Commerce, whose space in the Market Square has become a truly effective business hub, and the working relationship with the Digital Greenhouse across the square has gone from strength to strength."

Pictured: Deputy Charles Parkinson. 

Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, Vice-President of the Committee for Economic Development said:

"As a board member of Start Up Guernsey I have seen at close hand how hard they have worked to support entrepreneurialism in Guernsey, and they have done sterling work to support many new businesses in the island. The Committee is grateful for their efforts and successes.

"However the development of the Digital Greenhouse offer and the partnerships with Barclays Eagle Labs and Agilisys offer us a different way to support start-up and scale-up businesses and make our investment on behalf of the taxpayer work even harder. I am also delighted that we will be working even more closely with Barrie Baxter, Kay Leslie and the team at Chamber, who are doing a great job supporting new businesses in Guernsey."

Pictured: Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen. 

Barrie Baxter, President of the Guernsey Chamber of Commerce said:

"We are absolutely delighted to be part of this important collaboration for the benefit of the business community and the island as a whole. This welcome development will further build on the existing collaboration with our members and business partners."

Simon Phillips, Island Director at Barclays in Guernsey said:

"Barclays is committed to supporting our local business communities and the Barclays Eagle Lab in Guernsey continues to provide local entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale ups with opportunities to learn and grow.

"The continued support of the States of Guernsey for the Eagle Lab, along with the Digital Greenhouse, Chamber of Commerce and Agilisys, will create a strong network that will be of great benefit to the island."

Richard Hanrahan, Chief Executive of Agilisys Guernsey - the States' strategic partner for digital services - said:

"Agilisys and Blenheim Chalcot are delighted to be supporting the development of the island's digital economy. By combining the expertise of local partners with Blenheim Chalcot's track record in business building we have an unprecedented opportunity to unlock Guernsey's digital potential.

"We have already signed Heads of Terms for our first economic development commitment - a London based Economic Development Office on the campus of one of the world's leading universities and are now scoping our skills and mentoring initiatives. Agilisys and Blenheim Chalcot are excited by the opportunity to work with the local community to create a vibrant and dynamic digital sector."

The new approach will be formally established in January 2020, but is already up and running as part of a transition period.

Individuals and businesses seeking further information should email gareth.jones@gov.gg or steve.wakelin@gov.gg.