Cohort 1 gets to work in Norwich

Last week participants gathered on the first day of the Creative East: Create Growth Programme at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich.

Businesses from across the creative industries have been selected to take part in the programme’s first cohort which is focused on businesses operating in Norfolk. Each participant will benefit from a 12-week bespoke schedule of activity, which will help them shape their business ready to gain investment opportunities.

Emma Jones from Ember Films is excited to be taking part in the Creative East programme. She said: “Thank you for a very enjoyable and insightful start to the course today. It was great to connect with some local companies that I have known from a distance for quite some time yet never found an opportunity to meet with in person and it was also a pleasure to be introduced to [mentors] Kate and Richard, both of which I found to have some interesting common ground so hopefully there will be more opportunities for us to connect and collaborate further.”

Also, pleased to be part of the investment readiness programme is Josh Trett from Trett Films. He added: “I left the first session of Creative East really excited. From just the introduction alone, I found it inspiring and informative and can’t wait for what is to follow. The fact it had been curated for creative business in mind with relevant people from the industry involved made it feel like my business was a perfect fit for the cohort.”

Creative East is a £1.275m specialist investment readiness and business support scheme designed for businesses within the creative industries in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough with high growth aspirations and is part of the national Create Growth programme. Businesses from all creative sectors and especially those within the region’s key clusters of TV, film, software and gaming are being supported to encourage growth.

Saffron Myhill, Innovation Funding Manager at Creative East, explained: “The Creative East: Create Growth Programme is a fantastic opportunity for businesses within the creative industries to get ‘investment ready’. All participants will receive a free bespoke programme, which will include mentoring, thought provoking seminars and roundtable discussions, as well as expert advice to help business founders gain the investment they need to bring their business goals to life.”

The Creative East: Create Growth Programme is now taking applications for Cohort two, which will take place in Ipswich, Suffolk and start in September 2023. To apply complete our form