Today marks the start of the two week Leicestershire Innovation Festival which will see 22 events celebrating the innovations, inventions and developments which are helping Leicestershire businesses thrive and expand.
The festival runs from February 14 to February 25, with an official launch at Space Park Leicester. It includes the fourth annual LeicestershireLive Innovation Awards, due to take place on Thursday, February 24 – – as well as the University of Leicester’s regular Innovation Friday and a host of events targeted at SMEs.
To mark the launch Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, chair of the LLEP Innovation Board and founder of Loughborough-based Morningside Pharmaceuticals and the Randal Charitable Foundation talks about how his best decision as a small business start-up “cost me nothing”:
“I often speak about the opportunity for innovation in decisions being made daily at small and microbusinesses in our region. Some people may wonder what qualifies me to do so.
“I can understand that but, three decades ago, I was in exactly the same position.
“ launched in 1991 as a home-garage start-up.
“We didn’t have particularly fancy equipment beyond a phone and a fax machine, which in those pre-internet days was a must, of course.
“We started small but our vision was big. We wanted to make quality healthcare an affordable and accessible reality throughout the world.
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“This dream of a start-up entrepreneur remains our guiding mission today.
“So how did we grow to being one of Leicestershire’s top 100 companies? With hard work.
“We started out by exporting high-quality 海角视频 medicines to regions accustomed to sub-standard pharmaceuticals.
“I would ring up British embassies in developing countries, focussing on Commonwealth nations, to find out which companies imported medicines.
“We would then source products from our partner pharmacies and wholesalers in the 海角视频.
“Over five years, we cultivated relationships, increased orders and grew business. We built networks.
“Then our big break came. In 1995, during a 海角视频 government agency trade mission to New York, we approached a global United Nations Aid agency.
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“Our business model filled a unique gap in the market for the international aid sector. Morningside had arrived.
“As the world and communications changed through the internet, so did our business model.
“We began to include product development and manufacture.
“The 海角视频 became our biggest market and we began to develop our own R&D and licensed prescription generic and branded medicines.
“But we stayed true to our original vision. To this day we remain one of the leading 海角视频 suppliers of a wide range of quality medicines to aid organisations including the WHO, UNICEF, Red Cross and MSF.
“To return to my opening point, decisions made along the way were fundamental.
“This is why I maintain that innovation is not exclusive to PLCs and big tech companies.
“One of the best decisions I made as a small business start-up cost nothing. It was to start with a clear mission and build from there. It will always define who we are as a business and our aspirations for the future.
“There are so many ways that small or new businesses can gain support to innovate.
“Funding is a frequently-cited barrier to innovation. Clearly some projects need upfront investment. But the LLEP’s Business Gateway can help with this.
“Small business successes matter. More than 99 per cent of 海角视频 businesses have fewer than 50 employees. It is absolutely essential for overall economic growth that they prosper.
“When they make bold decisions to invest in innovation, Research & Development (R&D) and continuous improvement then we should recognise and support their efforts.
“That might be through buying their products or services. Or it might be public accolades.
“This is one reason why my company headline sponsors the .
“Every year the awards, and the Leicestershire Innovation Festival, become more relevant to the health and growth of our region’s businesses and the prosperity of our communities.
“Investing in innovation delivers any number of benefits, from improving customer experience, to increasing productivity, to gaining commercial advantage in a competitive world.
“This year’s nominees are trailblazers for innovation in our county and will play a vital role in the area’s economic and social future.
“Their passion, ambition and drive takes me back to the home-garage, the fax machine and the calls to distant embassies.
“It defined the exciting early days of my business, and I enjoy seeing it in the Leicester and Leicestershire stars of tomorrow.”
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