Help to Grow Management Scheme for SMEs
Stirling Management School will support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as part of the Help to Grow Scheme, the UK Government’s flagship business recovery programme.
More details can be found here.
To book your place, visit the Help to Grow Management Programme website.
SMS is involved in supporting SMEs in many ways, including through local business competitions and awards. Some of our recent activity includes:
The VIBES awards:
Scottish Environment Business Awards – the VIBES awards celebrated its 20th anniversary in November 2019. SMS have sponsored the SME category award for 6 years. This year’s winner was FINDRA, an outdoor lifestyle clothing brand. Founded in 2014 by fashion designer and outdoor enthusiast Alex Feechan, FINDRA designs and retails stylish, sustainable, multi-purpose lightweight layers using merino wool and innovative performance fabrics.
Previous winner of the SME category award was CMS Windows, who regularly collaborate with SMS hosting students at their site to understand CMS Windows processes of innovation as well as hosting student summer consultancy projects. To celebrate this milestone anniversary, a special ‘Best of VIBES’ award was presented to CMS Window Systems, a former winner of the prestigious award for Management SME in 2015. The company were recognised for continuously implementing environmental improvements and for pushing the market to higher specifications for heat loss and working with glass and profile manufacturers to increase the recycling content of new windows.
The HEAT awards:
Clackmannanshire Business Gateway have hosted the HEAT 20 “Dragons’ Den” Competition for the last 6 years. SMS have sponsored one of the awards throughout the 6 years. The competition is open to a new business that has been trading for less than a year (as at March 2020) or an entrepreneur with a new idea that they are looking to turn into a business. Participants pitch their ‘business idea’ to a panel of local entrepreneurs and an SMS academic who provide feedback to each participant. The panel then agree 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed businesses who then receive a wide range of financial and professional support and guidance.