Workshops, networking events and ongoing opportunities
We’re here to help businesses in our community thrive by offering tailored resources, expert-led workshops, practical training sessions and valuable networking events. Whether you’re a start-up or a well-established company in Newham, our goal is to support your growth, connect you with other local businesses and wider partners and provide access to essential tools and knowledge.
Explore our upcoming events, discover specialised training programs and join a thriving network of like-minded professionals. Together, let’s build a resilient and successful business community.
Upcoming events in May
Access to Finance: Empowering Newham SMEs
Are you a small or medium-sized business in Newham looking to grow? Join us for a practical and informative session on accessing finance, delivered by experts from Barclays. This event is designed specifically for local SMEs, offering guidance on funding options, investment readiness, and how to navigate the financial landscape with confidence. Whether you're just starting out or ready to scale, you'll gain valuable insights and connect with support that can help turn your business goals into action.
The Youth Empowerment Summit 2025
Thursday 8 May – 5-9:30pm
Plexal - Here East E15
The Youth Empowerment Summit 2025 aims to address gaps in support, education, and employment for young people, focusing on social inclusion and tackling knife crime.
Start Young UK is a team of educators, mentors, and community leaders committed to empowering young people. It's bringing together leaders from business, government, and education for an impactful evening filled with action-driven discussions, collaboration, and pledges to support our youth.
Attendees will leave not only with insights but also with a commitment to take action, ensuring long-term impact beyond the event.
Barclays Black Founder Accelerator Programme
Applications are now open.
The programme especially designed to champion diversity in entrepreneurship and showcase Black Founder-led businesses. Foundervine is an award-winning social enterprise with a strong track record of helping entrepreneurs from under-represented communities to start their own business.
LAIN small and diverse suppliers event
Monday 19th May – 9:30am-1:30pm
UEL, Royal Docks Sustainability Centre
Do you want to learn more about how to win contracts with some of London’s biggest organisations?
Join LAIN and MSDUK to:
- Hear from organisations like Transport for London and the NHS on opportunities for small and diverse businesses within their supply chains
- Hear from SMEs who have won contracts
- Connect with business support organisations
East Bank Apprentice Celebration & Networking Event
Want to grow your team and upskill local talent - with apprenticeship training costs covered by levy transfer?
Join the East Bank Apprentice Celebration & Networking Event to hear real stories from employers and apprentices and connect with industry leaders. Light refreshments provided.
UCL East, Marshgate – 7 Sidings Street E20 2AE
Thursday 22nd May 2025, 3:30-5:30pm
How to fund your start-up with Virgin Start-Up
Tuesday 27th May
1-2pm
Online
Find out how to fund your start-up business, from Start-Up loans, crowdfunding, bootstrapping and more, this session will help uncover what funding options are open to you as you start out, and how to take advantage of them.
Unlock the potential of your start-up
Apply for our Empower100 investment - readiness programme for London founders.
Two cohorts in 2025: 19th June-31st July and 21st August-2nd October
Grow London Coffee Friday
Friday 6th June – 10am-12pm
Join Grow London Local for our event series: Coffee Fridays! An hour or two of friendly conversation, knowledge sharing and great coffee (and cake).
Ongoing Opportunities for businesses
Grow London Local
Grow London Local will give you free access to all the support you need to help grow your business. Explore our online library for events, support programmes and expert-led content designed to help you achieve your business goals.
Newable
Newable helps companies thrive by providing the essential resources they need to take the next step with their business. They support companies of all shapes, styles and sizes because variety and diversity fuels a thriving economy. Click on the above link to view its upcoming events/webinars.
Google for Startups
Google for Startups supports growing startups to utilise its resources, classes, connections and expertise to build their technical skills and knowledge.
It runs a number of programmes including:
- Startup School: Provides practical workshops on training for startup founders and their teams, covering topics including SEO, user experience and Google ads.
- Residency: Supports growth-stage startups to make the most of Google’s products, connections and best practices. Startups benefit from tailored mentoring, as well as access to workspace.
- Live sessions: A virtual event series bringing together Google experts, industry leaders, venture capitalists and coaches to support founders with their questions.
- Immersion (black founders): A 12-week skill-building mentorship programme for Black-founded startups. It prepares founders to grow their businesses, raise funding, and advance their leadership skills.
- Immersion (women founders): A 12-week mentorship-focused programme connecting women-founded startups from across Europe with Google resources.
Click here to find out more.
Hear from a consortium of respected speakers to discuss the incredible value of having a more diverse and inclusive supply chain.
Samuel Wilson's Loan Trust for young people
Samuel Wilson's Loan Trust is a charity which offers business loans to young people aged 18-39 who are "in need by reason of ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantages" to establish and develop new businesses.
The maximum loan is £50,000 starting at 2% interest. Please note that, as part of the application process, a robust business plan with detailed and realistic financial forecasts is required.
Help to Grow: Management Course
The Help to Grow: Management Course is designed and delivered by entrepreneurs and industry experts from world-class business schools. It provides:
- access to 12 weeks of learning designed to fit alongside work commitments
- development of a bespoke business growth plan to help your business reach its full potential
- 1:1 support from a business mentor
- networking opportunities
The programme is 90% funded by the Government so you only pay £750.
The Mayor of London’s scrappage scheme for businesses
The Mayor of London’s new scrappage scheme for vans and minibuses has been designed to further tackle the negative impact of toxic air pollution in London. It will enable eligible SMEs and charities with ten or less employees to replace polluting vehicles that don't meet the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) emissions standards – ULEZ is expanding to include outer London on 29 August.
The scrappage scheme offers six grant payment options. We encourage Newham businesses who aren’t ULEZ compliant to consider trading up to a fully electric vehicle using either a grant of £7,500 for a van or £9,500 for a minibus.
Queen Mary University of London's qNomics Programme offers free business services ranging from advice and training on business finance to planning, market research and expansion.
This free advice and support is delivered by students from Queen Mary's School of Economics and Finance under the supervision of expert practitioners who volunteer their services as part of their commitment to pro bono work.
