Global Business Innovation Programme

Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP) helps innovative SMEs to collaborate and explore global markets, accelerating business growth.  

Each GBIP, focused on a specific market and technology or sector area, involves a cohort of up to 15 ambitious innovative UK businesses looking to grow and scale globally.  The programme aims to help businesses explore future opportunities and to better understand what is needed to be successful on the global stage.

The GBIP provides detailed market knowledge, cultural insight, and introductions and connections, opening doors that SMEs might find difficult to do themselves.  Each business is supported by an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation and growth specialist to help maximise the potential of being part of the programme and beyond.

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Eligibility

Programme

Who is the Global Business Innovation Programme for?

In order to be eligible for the Global Business Innovation Programme, you must be a small or medium sized company based in the UK.  We are looking for businesses with the ambition and commitment to grow and scale globally with the need to better understand how to tackle global markets, to build partnerships and collaborations, and to explore future opportunities.  A senior person from the company needs to commit to being involved in all stages of the programme.

The three stages of the programme are as follows:

Get ready

Get ready for the market includes a workshop in the UK with the cohort being briefed by sector and market experts on, for example, cultural aspects of conducting business in that country, the management and protection of intellectual property, and potential opportunities.  Participants receive help to find potential partners and collaborators and to better articulate the value proposition of their business.  

Visit the market

Visiting the market provides opportunities to explore at first hand the market, attend pre-arranged meetings to meet potential partners and collaborators, site visits, and a range of activities tailored to the needs of the market and thematic area.  

Exploit the opportunity

Exploiting the opportunity is arguably the most important aspect of the programme. To maximise the opportunity, participating companies work with an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation and growth specialist, receiving bespoke one-to-one support to help develop and implement an action plan.

Selection

Selection for the Global Business Innovation Programme

The Global Business Innovation Programme operates on a competitive basis and businesses selected are required to actively participate in all three stages.

Cost

What is the cost of the Global Business Innovation Programme?

The cost to participate in the programme is the time commitment of a senior person from the business.  The commitment includes working with an Innovate UK Business Growth innovation & growth specialist, attending the Get ready workshop (2 days), visiting the market (1 week), and attending the Exploit the opportunity workshop (1 day).

Innovate UK will fund and organise group flights, group accommodation and group in-market travel for successful applicants. One senior representative from each company will be funded.

On acceptance to the programme a commitment fee of £1000 will be obtained from each participant, which will be refunded on completion of the full activities and agreed action plan. Non-completion after formal acceptance may result in forfeiting some or all the commitment fee.

You can view client success stories here (from the Canada Agri-Tech GBIP) and here (from the Australia Agri-Tech GBIP).