At what point, Ieuan, are you going to recognise that what you do in terms of delivering business support is bad?
His solution?
To create three “centres for business” – one each in North, South and West Wales. The centres would be “iconic” and would provide support for budding entrepreneurs. There would be mentoring sessions with private sector “heavyweights” as well as financial support, advice and funding. Each centre would also have a “lending room”– a Dragons’ Den-style forum to which around 1500 businesses each month could come to pitch and present their ideas to the banks. The centres for business would be paid for through an Assembly and private sector initiative, with one idea is that banks sponsor the buildings in return for having the lending room.
It is an inspired idea and with the techniums now becoming available in Bangor, Aberystwyth and multiple locations in South Wales, he has the iconic buildings in place to make it happen. The real question is whether the private sector could do this without WAG support. I think it could but it would have to be driven by someone like Paul Ragan.
As the Chairman of this year’s Fast Growth 50 winner, Smart Solutions, he also notes that “Around 90% of our growth will come from 10% of our top people. We need to find that 10% and the only way we will do that is to create the right environment.
However, his biggest criticism is saved for the Economy Development Minister. According to Mr Ragan,
“I met Ieuan Wyn Jones, the minister for the Welsh economy, and I asked him, ‘OK, so I own a hardware store in Aberdare and I want to open two others. Who do I go to, where do I go?’,“He didn’t know. He couldn’t answer. If he doesn’t know who’s responsible for business development, how do you expect the businesses to? I asked, ‘At what point, Ieuan, are you going to recognise that what you do in terms of delivering business support is bad? It doesn’t work."
A point well made and perhaps the biggest problem is that the Welsh Assembly Government is more ready to listen to lobbying groups such as the CBI rather than individual entrepreneurs. Paul Ragan and other successful entrepreneurs have much to offer this nation and government could, and should, be making more of their talents.
Comments
Will IWJ stop and listen?
Do turkeys vote for Christmas?
a) There would be too many commercial investors trying to get to the front of the queue and
b) Then too many businesses trying to do the same.
c) The message in the market would be misleading i.e. that if you want to raise finance you have to come to the Centres.
d) The idea that WAG or anybody else could successfully manage to sift through 1,500 (Paul’s no. not mine) business proposals a month needs to think again.
e) Who would be ‘the experts’ sitting through the presentations? And
f) Dragon’s Den isn’t real, it’s a TV show with a small element of realism.
The question to the Minister about setting up hardware shops may have been a little unfair. Over the years, apart from initial start up mentoring from the Enterprise Agencies – the local retail sector has never had much support anyway (due the displacement argument).
The success of any business support programme (or any other government policy) is to keep it simple stupid, and stop overhauling it every 5 mins (2-3 years). This also means giving most of the money to the Entrepreneurs (not the civil servants) as they know what is required and will spend it more efficiently.
The answer I would give is that nobody in their right mind would open a hardware shop in Aberdare or contemplate going to WAG to expand a retail empire.
There is no EU support for retail and historically there has never been any support for retail so why ask such an unanswerable question?
I also don't believe that more 'entrepreneurs' are needed in Wales. We need better managed businesses, better trained skilled employees and a better business climate. The very last thing we need is more people like Mr.Ragan, much as we might admire him and his tremendous achievment. Very few are capable of emulating either his style or business acumen and it is cruel to try and force this on 'lesser' mortals whose aspirations are mainly to stay employed, keep the family fed and a roof over their heads.
I am no particular fan of WAG and their business support initiatives but let's face it they have tried and they have spent alot of (EU) money. The scheme that you are proposing seems to me to very reminiscent of the late (un)lamented 'enterprise agencies' with a twist. The twist being that instead of being enmeshed in the grant culture businesses will be now be 'in hock' again to the banks and to rapacious venture capitalists and business angels (from hell).
So chwarae teg for proposing something but,sadly, I don't buy it. It conflicts with my belief that the way to true sustainable economic regeneration is through radical reform of business finance and improving the business climate through New Deal type infrastructure projects. It's not the people that need fixing, it's the money.
Ask the question: does this public sector support for company X bring wealth into Wales ? If it's retail or another bog standard recruitment agency or a company whose main source of income is a WAG contract, the answer is no as this is money that is just being recycled (review Fast 50 in that light).
FS4B was flawed and unsustainable but there were lots of good points that should have been retained. No WAG services should be contracted out as there are clear conflicts of interest which have been exploited for years by Enterprise Agencies.
Be aware that many of these deliverers' poor performance has never been able to be addressed due to the strict rules surrounding WAG procurement whereby past performance cannot be taken into account !
With budgets contracting WAG should invest in providing wealth creating start ups with potential and SMEs with ambition with high quality advice across all aspects of a business' activities. As a Business Link study showed, businesses that take strategic advice are twice as profitable as those that don't.
The skills agenda has been woefully mismanaged since the creation of ELWa and in DCELLS and is a numbers game as opposed to one that meets the needs of the present economy and that of the future. This needs to change very soon.
The Universities need to be given an ultimatum: innovate, engage with the private sector, become more commercial or else lose funding. There are some pockets of really good practice but otherwise its apathy.
Also, take out London and the South East and we haven't performed badly economically. Moreover, Wales is not an homogenous country economically and regions and sub regions need different approaches. Cardiff is a modern, increasingly affluent city. Our major problems are in rural and former industrial areas such as the Heads of the Valleys. ERP seems to have missed this !