For innovation-led SMEs with high growth potential, Innovate UK Business Growth offers specialist advice, unlocks funding opportunities, and builds global partnerships.

Our specialists provide tailored, one-to-one intensive support. They help uncover and tackle challenges that can hold back growth and scaling, and connect businesses with the right resources and expertise to make growth-enhancing innovation happen.

If you need funding and finance, our specialists will identify your needs and help you understand capital options and alternative investment sources. We also identify regional and national connections to realise your ambitions.

We can help you make connections to partners and use insights to expand into vertical and international markets and achieve scaling ambitions.. We arrange intensive programmes such as the Global Business Innovation Programme as well as highly focused, productive brokerage events.

Dr Deborah Watson manages the Innovate UK Business Growth team in the Great South West. She has extensive experience managing University and business partnerships, and helping make our area the best place to live and work.

Deborah’s career started with a physics PhD, followed by research management, running Universities SW, and various non-executive director and governance roles. She currently supports innovative SMEs and runs her own company, Gradsouthwest, supporting graduates into employment. She’s one of hundreds of innovation and growth specialists with backgrounds in many sectors, so you can be sure of dedicated support that is local to you.

We work with many other innovation organisations, such as innovation catapults, laboratories such as the National Physical Laboratory, the British Standards Institute, Innovate UK Business Connect, the investor community, Intellectual Property Office and universities.

See examples of our work

We run a programme specifically for scaleup businesses – those with international potential and growing at a rate of 50% a year – to help them realise their potential. You get a scaleup director to help source capital investment, enter new markets and find the resources needed to realise your potential.

Find out more about the scaleup programmes

Our support is fully funded by the UK Government, although some aspects of the offer such as IP Audits attract a grant, with a minority contribution from the client.