The Small Business Charter has responded to the Department for Business and Trade’s consultation addressing whether current policies support businesses in overcoming barriers to finance and exploring how growth opportunities can be created by supporting SMEs and the lending sector.
We are in broad agreement that SMEs need more support in accessing finance, and the Government should address the main barriers to demand for debt finance which include poor economic growth, complex processes for accessing finance, and low levels of financial acumen and knowledge gaps amongst SMEs.
To address low levels of financial acumen amongst SMEs, the Government should work more closely with SBC accredited business schools. Business schools play an important role in improving financial literacy amongst SMEs through the successful government backed Help to Grow: Management course, and other initiatives supporting enterprise. We believe there is scope to expand the current Help to Grow: Management course with a separate and more detailed course to significantly improve how SME leaders are managing financial data.