Igniting Business Growth in South London
We helped ambitious small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs or SMBs) turn growth ideas into real results through collaboration, innovation, and acceleration.
Context
Opening Up South London’s Next Wave
South London’s economy was brimming with potential but faced a familiar challenge: unlocking faster growth and driving productivity for its network of ambitious small and medium businesses (SMEs). Regional leaders recognised that driving innovation—bringing new services, products, and commercial approaches to market—would be critical to boosting competitiveness and creating long-term economic opportunity.
With this vision in mind, Richmond Borough Council, in partnership with the South London Partnership, set out to design a new kind of business growth initiative: one that would empower SMEs to innovate, collaborate, and turn ideas into tangible outcomes.
Approach
The BIG Accelerator
Together with the five London borough councils of Croydon, Merton, Kingston, Richmond and Sutton, as well as leading higher education institutions, we co-created and delivered the BIG Accelerator, a cohort-based business innovation programme for SMEs. The approach involved an intensive eight-week accelerator, layering expert growth workshops, deep-dive coaching, and digital tools designed to transform ideas into real commercial results.
By connecting entrepreneurs, corporate partners, and local anchor institutions, we built an ecosystem that equipped participants with the tools and capacity to scale, fostering pragmatic partnerships and a climate of experimentation, learning, and growth.
Key to our delivery was collaboration, bringing in specialists in R&D, business productivity, and innovation processes, and forging new connections between SMEs and academia through tailored collaborations with Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) institutions.
Unleashing Measurable Impact
Jobs and Businesses: Supported SMEs in launching new services and products, directly creating jobs and driving local productivity.
Tangible Innovation: Multiple SMEs progressed from idea to prototype, with new business models tested and validated within a safe, supportive environment.
Collaboration at Scale: New cross-sector partnerships and public–private collaborations are increasingly embedded in the local innovation landscape.
Sustainable Growth: Created pathways for ongoing growth, with quarterly programme data driving continuous improvement and accountability.
Impact
Beyond the Finish Line: Sustaining Business Momentum
We achieved the desired outcomes through:
Ecosystem Building: Close partnership with local authorities, higher education, and anchor institutions fostered credibility and momentum.
Pragmatic Focus: Combining immersive, practical interventions with data-led oversight ensured relevance and measurable progress.
Outcomes-First Delivery: Clear, shared goals and transparent reporting kept everyone aligned and accountable, from planning to execution.
By embedding innovation into the DNA of South London’s business community, BIG is delivering a step change—showcasing the power of targeted, partnership-driven acceleration to create resilient local economies and opportunities for everyone.
“The insight gathering, casting, research, planning, delivery and amalgamation into the final published report was well executed. The team brought expertise and an elevation of the conversation which enabled South London Partnership to play a convening role and allowed organisations from a range of sectors to collaborate openly in shaping the discussions and outcomes. Studio Zao are quick, responsive and work efficiently which was essential for this piece of work. The team were tenacious and helped us keep on track to deliver at pace.”