Create Growth Programme

Helping businesses in England convert their creative potential into creative growth.

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Develop your creative potential

The Create Growth Programme was set up in 2022 by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS), with £17.5 million investment in the six original regions, of which £7m was provided to Innovate UK to invest via a series of awarded competitions. In July 2023, the previous government published its Sector vision, in which it announced an additional £10.9 million to support a further six regions, plus a further £6.92m of investment into grant funded competitions to be delivered by Innovate UK.

The challenge

Historically, the Creative Industries have struggled to obtain the necessary level of investment to grow and scale, in part due to investors’ limited understanding of the opportunities for investing in the sector. Investors generally look for scalability and defensible intellectual property (IP) which can be a challenge for creative businesses.

In addition, founders in creative businesses tend to be specialists in their discipline rather than in business, which leads to a broad lack of business skill and understanding. Finally, many smaller businesses aren’t static in terms of size and can have multiple or varied project and IP funding models, such as crowdfunding.

Creative Businesses take centre stage

Highlighting the impact the collaboration is having on supporting creative industries and the broader creative economy, and how the programme is driving growth and innovation across the sector. Read more about the Showcase Day and meet the attendees

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A regional approach

Delivered by teams in each of the regions, creative businesses with high-growth potential will be able to apply for support to help them prepare for investment and grow their business. Each region has its own distinct approach and bespoke programme, tailored to the businesses in its cohorts. Some regions specialise in certain sub sectors, whereas others pride themselves on a broad range of talent.

Working with each region’s combined authorities, the programme offers targeted support to eligible businesses to help unlock their growth potential. Each region is delivering bespoke support that responds to the specific needs of their local creative businesses.

Regions were selected via an open competition run by the DCMS between July and September 2022. Each region is led by the local council, partnership or combined authority, and comprises several areas, towns and cities.

Find an investor

Find an investor

We’ve developed a curated list of investors with a focus on specific creative sub-sectors, helping founders and others in the creative start-up ecosystem better understand the funding landscape and prepare to engage with investors effectively.

This initiative aims to close the funding gap for early-stage creative businesses by improving visibility, relevance, and access to aligned investors. It is designed for founders, ecosystem builders, and advisors navigating the UK creative investment landscape.

Innovate UK is supporting this work through a range of investor-focused activities, including networking and showcase events, mapping of current and potential investment in the creative industries, and resources to support investor readiness and understanding of funding routes.

Find an investor

Impact

The collaboration between Investor Networks and Innovate UK will put capitol in to the regions through the competitions, help to leverage investor partnerships with creative businesses, whilst increased investor understanding of regional creative sector opportunities will sow the seeds for future investment beyond the programme.

By tailoring the support programme to meet the needs of the businesses, the programme will also create a stronger, growing and better-equipped creative sector. It will help to build meaningful relationships between founders and investors, driving increased regional investment to boost growth outside of London, and improve regional understanding of the broader creative network.

Explore case studies
Impact

Resources

Explore our resources to understand more about the programme, the regions and the incredible investment opportunities available from the creative industries.
INVEST IN CREATIVE

Understanding the investment opportunities in the creative industries

We are delivering investor focused activities, including networking and pitching events, mapping of current and potential investment in the sector, and resources to support the understanding of investment opportunities. We will be working with investors at a national and local level to better understand the investment opportunities in the creative industries. Investors can apply to become one of Innovate UK’s investor partners so register your interest to hear about further selection processes and other opportunities.

Become an investor

Our Experts

Related Opportunities

Horizon Europe 2025 work programme Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society

Opens: 03/05/2025   Closes: 16/09/2025

Topics available under Horizon Europe’s Cluster 2 programme for 2025/26, with funding of up to €5m per project

More Information

Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2025 – 2026 Round 3

Opens: 16/06/2025   Closes: 17/09/2025

UK registered academic institutions, RTOs or Catapults, working with businesses or not for profits, can apply for a share of up to £9m.

More Information

Innovate UK innovation loans: Round 22

Opens: 10/07/2025   Closes: 27/08/2025

UK registered businesses can apply for loans for close to market innovative projects with strong commercial potential. They must significantly improve the UK economy and drive societal benefit.

More Information

Related Events and Recordings

Fri
13
Oct
2023

Lunch & Learn Series Autumn 2023: Create Growth Programme - Investing in the Creative Industries Insights

12.00 - 13.00 | Online

Watch now
Thu
26
Jun
2025

AI Insight Chat Series

12.00 - 13.30 | Online

Watch now
See all events

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