Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: Generation Growth
During Global Entrepreneurship Week, Goldman Sachs convened over 400 10,000 Small Businesses UK alumni at our Generation Growth event to highlight the incredible impact of small businesses on the UK economy. In this article Charlotte Keenan, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, reflects on the key learnings and takeaways from the event.
Back in 2010, the program was founded on a simple idea:
- That small businesses are the engines of the UK economy – they are the drivers of growth and innovation
- And that if we as a large, international business are able to use our resources, our network, and our convening power to support small businesses, then we can help to unleash the UK’s incredible economic potential
Thirteen years on, these foundations are more relevant than ever, with the UK facing significant economic challenges and an ever-growing productivity crisis.
In response to these headwinds, we believe whole heartedly that small businesses are the solution – because they are the backbone of the UK economy, the beating heart of local communities.
In the UK there are over 1.2 million SMEs aged three years and over – accounting for just under nine million jobs and more than £2 trillion of UK revenue1. These figures show the enormous impact of the UK’s small businesses. If we choose to support them and create the right environment to grow, small businesses can have a big impact.
However, too many small businesses are operating without the encouragement they need – we need to amplify the high performing firms to give them what they need to go for growth.
Our Generation Growth event was the first in a series of activities and research outputs we will be carrying into 2024 to better understand the needs of small business owners. Through these activities, we aim to encourage and support policymakers to urgently unlock the UK’s economic potential and give small businesses a voice.
Through 10,000 Small Businesses we are unrelenting in our commitment to support small business growth. Since launching the programme over a decade ago, we have helped over 2,200 small businesses, achieve over £5.8b in revenue and employ over 53,000 people.
1. Figures provided by Enterprise Research Centre, Aston University