Manchester businesses to get second chance at £4,000 Creative Credits

28/01/2010

'During tough economic times, it is the innovators who move ahead. The Creative Credits programme will unlock innovation by giving small firms an incentive to find new areas of growth.'

The UK innovation body, NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is offering businesses in Greater Manchester a second chance to apply for a £4,000 'Creative Credit' to help boost innovation.  

Following the success of the first wave  of 'Creative Credits'  which launched in September  last year, NESTA is inviting a new cohort of SME's  to apply for one of 75 new 'Creative Credits'. Each Creative Credit is worth £4,000 of creative support from a local creative business in return for at least £1,000 of investment from the SME.

Applications open on 1st February and are open to SME businesses based in Greater Manchester as well as the regions of Warrington, Congleton, Macclesfield and Vale Royal.

NESTA's research has found that those UK businesses that invest twice as much in creative services as the average firm are 25 per cent more likely to introduce product innovations. However many SMEs are unaware of these benefits or do not have the capital available to experiment.

Tom Doyle, from Amethyst Events, an events management company, which received a Creative Credit when the programme launched last September, says: 'The Creative Credit gave us the extra push we needed to think more laterally about ways of growing our business. Working with a creative business on a new website has unlocked avenues for reaching new audiences which we had never considered before. I'd highly recommend the scheme to businesses looking to try something new, without having to invest thousands.'

Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive of NESTA says 'During tough economic times, it is the innovators who move ahead. The Creative Credits programme will unlock innovation by giving small firms an incentive to find new areas of growth.  It's an ambitious but practical attempt to stimulate growth across the Greater Manchester economy  and one we are keen to learn from to benefit the rest of the economy.'

NESTA is partnering with Manchester City Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Arts and Humanities Research Council in investing a second tranche of £600,000 in the Creative Credits scheme. This second wave of investment will bring the number of SME's taking part in the pilot up to 150 who are given the opportunity to work with one of a group of creative businesses, also based in the Greater Manchester area.

For more information, please visit www.creative-credits.org.uk   

Notes to editors

For further information, please contact Catherine Anderson in NESTA's Press Office on 020 7438 2609 or Catherine.Anderson@nesta.org.uk

About NESTA

NESTA is the largest independent endowment in the UK. Its mission is to support innovation to drive economic recovery and solve some of the UK's major social challenges.

NESTA is a world leader in its field and is in a unique position to support innovation through a blend of practical programmes, policy and research and investment in early-stage companies.