$4.2 Million Boost to Help Businesses Grow

UniSA’s Centre for Business Growth will receive $4.2 million from the State Government over the next four years to run intensive business growth programs, which will drive growth in both the local and national economy.

Established in 2014, the Centre – based at the UniSA Business School – has already run a number of successful programs, which provide executives of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the knowledge, skills and tools to enable them to lead, manage and grow their companies.

The funding was announced as part of the South Australian Government’s 2015-16 mid-year-budget review handed down in December.

Centre for Business Growth Director and ANZ Chair in Business Growth, Professor Jana Matthews (pictured right) says the funding will enable the Centre to offer Business Growth Assessment Clinics to 240 companies in South Australia over the next 30 months and its world-class nine-month Business Growth program to 120 CEOs and executives who want to grow their companies.

“The Centre teaches CEOs, managing directors and executive team members of SMEs how to build strong companies that can deliver sustained growth in revenue, profits and jobs. Once CEOs understand how to grow, a large percentage of them begin to grow, create jobs, and go global,” Prof Matthews says.

“The programs are already delivering impressive results. The ten companies who already completed our first ANZ Business Growth Program, reported an aggregate increase in revenue of 24 per cent and 29 per cent in profits, and took earnings from $132m to $164m in the 2014-2015 financial year. We expect companies in our second class to achieve similar outcomes.

“Our first cohort of companies created 114 new jobs in Australia and expect to add over 300 more jobs this year.

“The funding from the SA Government will enable us to work with many more CEOs and executives to drive business growth in South Australia.”

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says he is pleased the Centre will be able to expand its delivery of programs to a significant number of South Australian companies.

“Job growth is particularly important to South Australia right now, as we realise the need to diversify our economy and be less dependent on the resources and manufacturing sectors,” Prof Lloyd says.

“We need to provide company leaders in our State with opportunities to innovate, the knowledge and skills they need to grow companies, and assistance and support as they prepare to compete in the global marketplace, and that’s exactly what the Centre does.”

Rosana Galvin, UniSA News

Original Article