Morning, Tuesday, 16th September 2025
Online
This conference will consider next steps for UK start-ups policy.
It will bring together key stakeholders and policymakers to discuss priorities for the Government’s forthcoming Small Business Strategy, looking at the way forward for reducing barriers for start‑ups and other SMEs, improving growth prospects and productivity, and supporting innovation and competitiveness.
Sessions in the agenda examine the way forward for improving access to finance, supporting adoption of digital technologies, fostering job creation, and developing regulation to better serve the needs of small and high-growth businesses. The role of new initiatives such as British Business Bank Industrial Strategy Growth Capital, the British Growth Fund, the Green Growth Guarantee Scheme, and proposed Business Growth Service will also be considered.
The discussion takes place in the wider context of:
- Industrial Strategy, with increased funding through the BBB to support small business and innovation across growth-driving sectors identified by the Government, alongside expansion of the Office for Investment
- measures in the Chancellor’s Spring Statement and Spending Review 2025, including SME productivity programmes, new skills funding, and increased BBB funding for start‑ups and scale‑ups
- recommendations for accelerating technology uptake among smaller firms in the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce: Interim Report, published in March 2025
- the Department for Business and Trade’s ongoing consultation on Small Business Access to Finance
Small Business Strategy
Delegates will examine requirements for effective development and implementation of the Small Business Strategy, including support needed for firms to start and scale-up, and how domestic and international markets can be opened up for SMEs. We also expect discussion on priorities for different types of businesses - as well as tensions between central government and devolved policy, looking at approaches to aligning with local and national growth initiatives such as the wider Industrial Strategy and economic goals, including overseas investment.
Strategies for unlocking business skills will be assessed, and what is needed from the wider tax and regulatory environment to promote growth and productivity.
Regulation
Sessions will discuss the role of regulation in supporting start-ups, looking at next steps for promoting competition in incumbent industries and how regulation might be balanced with sector growth, particularly in the context of the implementation of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Delegates will look at establishing clarity and consistency across FCA, CMA and RIO frameworks and how regulation can foster investor confidence and encourage innovation, considering concerns around inconsistent requirements delaying product launches or deterring investment.
Access to finance, capital markets and listing reform
Sessions will consider practical steps for making it easier for start-ups to access capital at each stage of growth, with the Government committing to reforming and streamlining UKRI funding routes as part of the Digital and Technologies Sector Plan.
With the BBB’s total financial capacity increased to £25.6bn in the Spending Review 2025, attendees will examine the way forward for distribution of start-up loans and support needed for small businesses in reaching equity deals and raising venture capital. The role of the BBB and private finance in easing barriers for businesses will be discussed, as well as opportunities following announcement of an additional £500m toward supporting underrepresented investors, and strategies for tackling regional imbalances in funding.
It will also be an opportunity to examine ways in which the UK’s financial ecosystem - including new listing platforms such as Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System - can better serve innovative companies, looking at concerns around proposed changes. Discussion is also expected on utilising incentives for UK start-ups and scale-up firms to list onshore.
Business support, procurement and public sector access
Delegates will examine the evolving role of digital tools in business support and the case for more integrated infrastructure to help scale-up firms, as well as how the proposed Business Growth Service might work in streamlining access to funding opportunities, export support, and reducing fragmentation.
Delegates will also assess early indications from the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force in February 2025, examining its impact on market competition, access to public contracts, and on procurement processes. We expect discussion to also centre on potential mitigations for new processes favouring established suppliers, looking at options for reform - including in defence - to enhance SME access to public contracts.
Regional growth
Discussion will consider how new policies can support fair and balanced growth across the UK, looking at how regional funding programmes such as Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II are being used, and how public sector contracts can better support start-up innovation. Strategies for managing risk and maintaining accountability in how start-ups are supported will be examined, as well as focusing on methods of working between regulators, industry, and support organisations that can best help businesses grow in a fast-changing, digital economy.
Innovation
Enhancing entrepreneur productivity through adopting digital technologies will also be discussed, as well as how recommendations in the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce: Interim Report might be implemented, such as e-invoicing standards and development of accessible AI-powered support tools. Discussion is expected on lessons learned from AI-related pilot schemes, as well as whether early-stage firms have enough access to technical support for growth, and ways forward for expanding access.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those due to attend include officials from DESNZ; DBT; DSIT; MHCLG; DfT; FCDO; DAERA, NI; Department for the Economy, NI; and NWF.
