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Home » ‘Back Startups To Grow Our Economy’ – SME Festival Liverpool Slush’D Returns With Dragon Piers Linney And Voi’s Founder Fredrik Hjelm

‘Back Startups To Grow Our Economy’ – SME Festival Liverpool Slush’D Returns With Dragon Piers Linney And Voi’s Founder Fredrik Hjelm

Liverpool’s startup business ecosystem is thriving but needs more Government backing – that’s the message from the team behind a festival this week that aims to celebrate the city region’s entrepreneurial pioneers.

Liverpool Slush’D – a spin-off of Helsinki’s Slush – returns to the Baltic Triangle tomorrow with the aim of boosting Liverpool’s startup scene. Speakers this year include Piers Linney, star of Dragons’ Den, Sir Robin Saxby, the former CEO of semiconductor giant ARM, and Fredrik Hjelm, founder and CEO of global e-scooter giant Voi.

This year the theme is “Liverpool’s Blueprint for Resilient Growth” as organisers aim to show that SMEs can help drive Liverpool’s future despite challenges including the cost of living crisis.

Ahead of the event, the Slush’D team revealed new data from Beauhurst showing there are 92,610 active businesses operating in the region – the highest figure on record. They say the city region needs to support and encourage entrepreneurs and not just focus on existing big employers.

Jonathon Clark, director of Liverpool Slush’D said: ‘We’re proud to celebrate our second year of Slush’D. Despite the challenging economic climate, there’s incredible momentum driving enterprise forward. In the months ahead, we hope the government steps up to support our city region and unlock the untapped potential to boost our local economy.

“This isn’t just about more investment. With the public sector making up nearly 50% of the UK’s GDP, current procurement rules are sidelining the startups and SMEs that fuel innovation and community wealth. It’s time to fix this imbalance. Homegrown businesses deserve a fair shot to compete and thrive. We urge the government to seize this opportunity to drive growth and strengthen the economy by backing the SMEs that power real progress.”

Claire Lewis, CEO of Baltic Ventures, the flagship early-stage tech accelerator based in the Liverpool City Region, says “This is yet another piece of data showing the positive economic momentum in the Liverpool City Region and confirming the entrepreneurial talent base that is here and is being attracted to this region. Entrepreneurs are building innovative businesses across multiple sectors illustrating the depth of the region’s growing economic strength. It’s imperative that we are able to continue this momentum by ensuring these businesses have access to the investment funding they need to scale and grow.”

The event will be held at Content, in Stanhope Street, from 9am on Thursday, September 19 – see here for more information

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