Empowering entrepreneurs in the borough

Enterprise is at the heart of Richmond upon Thames. We recognised an ever-increasing number of our residents have looked to build and develop their own business ideas.

In response to this trend, we have actively aimed to support our entrepreneurs, start-ups and sole traders. We built the Richmond Business Hub in 2021, providing advice, links to events and pointing people towards sources of help and finance to grow their businesses.

Our on-going support at Richmond Business Hub

In 2021, we advanced our efforts by launching the Phoenix Enterprise Programme, partnered with CPG, a focused programme of support, mentoring, networking opportunities and events to help entrepreneurs find their potential customers and new markets. This programme has helped over 1,500 start-ups to get going and grow.

We have now taken a step further with CPG through the new Zenith Enterprise programme. It features accelerator events guiding entrepreneurs through the critical steps to build their businesses and fast track their skill base. It also provides a scale-up mentoring, where leaders work with dedicated consultants to take their business to the next level.

In addition, we added a vital element to this initiative via our “Greening Your Business Programme”, supporting our businesses to accelerate their sustainability journey, reducing their carbon emissions in line with our borough targets and offering them the chance for Green Mark Level 1 Accreditation.

Now we have gone further as our new Innovation Hub, Patch, celebrates its first anniversary with over 250 paid members. Patch combines a public community space, hosting events and our new Library of Things. The membership-based workspace provides entrepreneurs with all they need to manage small businesses effectively.

To continue our support for local creative industry businesses, we are now launching a new programme with Creative United. The programme consists of one-to-one mentoring sessions and structured workshops for up to 25 businesses. A new Access to Finance event will also be held in Twickenham in February 2025, where businesses can find out more about what funding and advice is available from a variety of organisations.

Other business workshops are planned for later this year and further details can be found on the Richmond Business Hub.

We are dedicated to the success of our talented entrepreneurs and small business leaders across Richmond Borough. We recognise they are a crucial part of our lifeblood, and we want to ensure they have every chance of succeeding. 

Share this