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Supporting Welsh business

Excellent article yesterday in the Western Mail by Phil Cooper, Chief Executive of Venture Wales.

In an incisive piece of analysis, Phil said that

"there is a duty on all of us involved in trying to improve the economic performance of Wales to think seriously about this matter and consider carefully the best way forward. There is no point in trying to pretend there isn’t a problem when the statistics prove otherwise".

Other key points made in the article include:

  • Serious reservations about the Assembly Government’s recent strategy of trying to pick winners. Rather than focusing on companies that are already successful, it would surely make sense to concentrate on helping start-ups. One of the problems with backing already successful companies is that most of them are in the parts of Wales that have done relatively well economically. That perpetuates a Cardiff-centric, M4 corridor emphasis, when new small businesses should be stimulated in places like the Valleys. It is perverse to help companies in richer areas at the expense of those in the poorer parts of Wales.

  • Refocus the economy and transport department of the Welsh Assembly Government on the real needs of its external stakeholders rather than navel-gazing on its internal problems. There is a need for rationalisation based on actual market needs not on public sector perceptions;

  • Stop officials talking about confusion in the business support market as if it were caused by the delivery chain and providers of services – the biggest culprits are public sector bodies who have developed programmes in isolation;

  • Face up to the reality that several key government programmes that seem to be the nucleus of current strategy are not achieving anywhere near the expected outputs and have failed.

  • Redirect the resources into programmes that have a history of success and you get more value for money – not the other way round, as is the current scenario

  • Reduce the red tape and bureaucracy involved for small firms and individuals who try to access publicly funded business support programmes. Entrepreneurs tend to favour approaches that are high on innovation and low on bureaucracy.

  • Clarify the role of the economy and transport department and decide if they are fund-holders and programme managers of government funds or deliverers of services to small firms. Evidence suggests that their skill sets and cultural values are better suited to the former rather than the latter.

  • Establish economic development targets as this will make it easier to measure success and capture the enormous goodwill available from the numerous business support organisations involved with the delivery of services.

I certainly hope every civil servant in the Department of Economy and Transport has this pinned up on their office walls although I suspect, that as usual, they will conveniently ignore the advice from experienced professionals in the field of business support.

Phil has hit the nail firmly on the head when he says that there may need to be a Damascean conversion to realise that the poorer parts of Wales still needs support to close the enterprise deficit with the rest of the UK. That is, after all, why a further £1.2 billion of European funding is coming to this country.

Don't get me wrong, there is certainly a need to 'back winners' in key areas within Wales - especially in the fields of science and technology - but to adopt this approach as the ONLY strategy for regenerating Wales whilst ignoring the entrepreneurial potential of this nation is a formula for economic suicide.

If such opinions are being kept away from the Minister for the Economy by advisors determined to keep to the 'picking winners' strategy at all costs, then there is food for thought for Leighton Andrews, his Deputy Minister for Regeneration, given his valid concerns for the economic problems within the more deprived areas of the South Wales Valleys.

I hope he, if not his officials, will take the time to discuss some of Phil's issues directly with the man himself and other leaders within the enterprise support field.

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