Business leaders and entrepreneurs from across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have celebrated their ‘graduation’ from a Keele University support programme.

The Mercia Centre for Innovation Leadership*, a prestigious programme which aims to address the distinctive organisational and leadership challenges facing innovation-led and knowledge-intensive businesses across the local area, marked the completion of its third cohort at graduation ceremony in Keele Hall last week.

Over the past six months, participants received a wide range of learning activities, led by Keele academics and external business experts and leaders. One-to-one support from a dedicated Entrepreneur in Residence, providing coaching, advice and guidance in between each of the 12 learning sessions was also provided.

The fully-funded programme supported leaders of small to medium-sized businesses, as well as early-stage and aspiring entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial social innovators who are looking to develop products or services, achieve scalable routes to market and achieve strategic business growth in Stoke-on-Trent or Staffordshire.

The programme has seen businesses from a range of sectors develop success stories. MCIL participant Addmaster described the programme as “one of the best investments” and the company has recently been awarded their second Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

To find out more information about the programme, please visit www.keele.ac.uk/mcil or contact Keele University’s Business Gateway on 01782 733001 or email business.gateway@keele.ac.uk.

*The Mercia Centre for Innovation Leadership (ref: 32R15P00229) is part-funded from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds England Growth Programme 2014-2020.