BGF & the ScaleUp Institute announce the return of Scaleup Week: 19-22 September 2022

BGF and the ScaleUp Institute, a private-sector led, not-for-profit company focused on making the UK the best place in the world to scale up a business, today announce the return of Scaleup Week – the UK’s largest gathering of growth businesses – which is taking place from the 19^th to the 22^nd of September.

Scaleup Week 2022 brings together industry leaders, policymakers, and businesses from across the UK to explore the important issues facing growing businesses and how they can navigate the pressing external challenges to continue to thrive.

Through a series of in-person events, panels, virtual debates and roundtables, the UK’s leading business leaders, founders, and scaleup teams will discuss how growing businesses can respond to economic uncertainty, the cost-of-living crisis, geopolitical instability, and an urgent need to address net zero – while continuing to scale up their businesses and foster innovation and growth. Everyone agrees we need to focus on delivering growth, the key question is how.

In-person events will be taking place in London in addition to a series of nationwide fringe events, complemented by a schedule of free virtual debates and a dedicated online content hub. Those who want to join the events can sign up and register online.

This year’s event will also include a new segment – ‘Scale Up Spotlights’ – which will see seasoned founders and veterans of industry interviewed about their experience in creating new technologies, disrupting global industries and driving good growth.

Senior representatives from major businesses, scaleups and industry organisations will be in attendance, including: Andy Shovel, Founder & Co-CEO, THIS; Rodney Appiah, Cornerstone Partners; Tessa Clarke, co-founder, OLIO; Greg Jackson, founder & CEO, Octopus Energy; Rajeeb Dey MBE, CEO of Learnerbly; Sam Smith, CEO of finnCap; Anna Brailsford, CEO of CodeFirst Girls and Nigel Toon, CEO of Graphcore.

For the second year in a row, the event has the endorsement of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and 10 Downing Street.

The agenda will focus on themes such as:

• Achieving net zero: where will the substantial green investment we need come from?
• Working for everyone: how scaleups can build inclusive workforces?
• Scaling sustainably: how to balance a growing footprint with a growing business?
• The road ahead: what do scaleups need to deliver good growth?

The return of Scaleup Week follows a successful digital launch in May last year, which saw thousands of attendees come together to drive forward the post-pandemic recovery and discuss how to support the levelling up agenda – culminating in a series of proposals from BGF to support the growth of scale up businesses. Last year’s speakers include representatives from PensionBee, Gousto, Elvie, TalkTalk, and Ocado.

Bringing together the leading business figures from across the UK is not only a privilege but a truly vital exercise in ensuring we are collectively equipped to tackle the pressing economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges facing business communities across the UK. By tapping into leading industry expertise, we can better support our wealth of growing businesses – enabling them to prosper and ensuring they feel emboldened to continue seeking growth opportunities.

Stephen Welton, Executive Chair at BGF

Irene Graham OBE, CEO of the Scale Up Institute said: “Just over 33,000 scaleups contribute £1trn to the UK economy and employ 3.2 million people. They are crucial to our future prosperity, sustainability and competitiveness and it is vital that we support them at a local and national level.

“Bringing together all the participants in our scaleup ecosystem for our second Scaleup Week provides an important moment to reflect, share knowledge and expertise, and ultimately help unlock scaling businesses’ potential and accelerate their growth.”