Peer Networks support for Greater Manchester SMEs
Peer Networks are set to drive SME growth in Greater Manchester as small and medium sized business owners work together to navigate their challenges and adapt to the ‘new normal’.
Throughout the city region, business owners are coming together in small groups to learn from and support each other as they work together on important challenges and opportunities, such as EU transition, recovering from the impacts of Covid-19, HR, digital, finance and marketing.
The new national programme, which is funded by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), is being delivered in England locally by GC Business Growth Hub and supported by the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
Richard Jeffery, director of business growth at the Growth Company, said: “SME businesses in Greater Manchester are facing increased challenges and opportunities, including from Covid-19 and EU transition, so there’s never been a more important time to prepare your business for the future by joining like-minded businesses and working together to share challenges, solutions, knowledge, expertise and experience.
“Peer Networks has been designed for business owners to work together to realise opportunities and develop themselves and their businesses.
“The programme is a hugely powerful England-wide network that is going to be life-changing for SME businesses, and the legacy of it is going to be massive. Moving forward, I expect we will see peer networking embedded as a core tool in the SME business community across the country.”
Each Peer Network consists of 11 owners or managers from the local SME business community. It is led by a facilitator and will typically meet fortnightly as a group to discuss a series of common business challenges.
Individual one-to-one support will also be provided to help to implement and manage change within each individual business.
