Enterprise & Business
Enterprise Hubs & SME Support
What is an enterprise hub?
An enterprise hub is a physical or virtual space that supports high-growth and innovative businesses, primarily in the area’s knowledge-based sectors.
Enterprise hubs offer support for entrepreneurs at pre-start, start-up and early stage development to help reduce business risk and maximise productivity and
the chances of business success.
The hubs provide an environment where businesses can collaborate, exchange knowledge and share best practice, as well as accessing specialist support, training and services. To help improve the commercialisation and exploitation of research and development, the hubs also provide improved links to higher education and larger, research-intensive corporate businesses.
Regional Enterprise Hub strategy
The Greater Cambridge Enterprise Hub Programme is closely aligned to the wider regional strategy to support enterprise and innovation across the East of England.
The regional development agency EEDA is striving to help small, knowledge intensive businesses to play a greater role in science, technology and research through
its Enterprise Hubs programme
The Greater Cambridge Enterprise Hub strategy
The Strategy for Enterprise Hubs in the Greater Cambridge Area, produced by SQW for the GCP, identifies two sectors as key to Greater Cambridge:
the life sciences and technology sectors. The current strategy is to develop two generic enterprise hubs, each comprised of physical centres plus business
support activities around these sectors. The two hubs overlap, having some distinct, but also some common components, as can be seen in the diagram below.
Download the Greater Cambridge Area Enterprise Hubs strategy
The Life Sciences Enterprise Hub
Each of the components of the Life Sciences Enterprise Hub provides a mix of support tailored to life sciences businesses.
High-Tech Enterprise Hub
The technology Enterprise Hub provides a continuum of business support from pre-start and start-up to early stage development through to growth into larger
scale businesses. Some of the elements of this model are already in place and others are in development.
The role of the GCP
The GCP assesses initial bids for enterprise hub funding in Greater Cambridge for consideration under EEDA’s Enterprise Hub programme. To assist this assessment
process, The Greater Cambridge Enterprise Hub strategy details a model for sub-regional hub development, together with a five-year strategy and action plan to
take this development forward. See the project section below to find out more about some of the enterprise hubs supported by the GCP and EEDA.
Read more about the Babraham Bioscience Enterprise Hub
Read more about the St. John's Innovation Centre
Enterprise Hub
Read more about the Papworth Cardio-Thoracic BioIncubator Enterprise Hub
Read more about the Health Enterprise East Enterprise Hub
Read more about Future Enterprise Hub Proposals
Contact Cathy Taylor for more information on 01223 717310 or by email to cathy.taylor@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
