About the programme

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme is designed to provide high-quality, practical education and business support to leaders of high-growth small businesses and social enterprises across the country.

These small businesses play a vital role in creating jobs and driving economic growth in the UK through innovation and market expansion. Social enterprises are also increasingly contributing to UK economic and community development through sustainable business models that are less dependent on traditional grant funding.

After extensive research, Goldman Sachs launched the 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme in 2010 to specifically address the support gap for small enterprises, helping them to unlock the economic and job creation potential of their businesses. The programme is designed by leading experts and is run in partnership with Saïd Business School, the Aston Centre for Growth, Leeds University Business School, and the Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. 

How it works

The programme brings together leaders of small businesses from across industry sectors and creates unique networking and peer learning opportunities.

For those small business leaders selected to participate, the core of the programme is a high quality, practically-focused business and management education, delivered over 100 hours through a blend of online and in-person residential sessions. The curriculum has been designed specifically for this programme by world-class international and national experts in entrepreneurial learning.

The programme will include three residential sessions and will rotate between residential and online learning. The online curriculum has been developed to meet the needs of small business owners, providing them with ultimate flexibility. 

During the course of the program every small business owner develops a customised Growth Plan to direct their organisation’s business strategy and expansion. The success of the programme is contributed to the right balance of formal learning, mentoring and peer-to-peer support. Participants of the programme will benefit from: 

• Specialist workshops
• One-on-one business advising
• Business coaching
• Access to professional experts
• Networking opportunities and
• A network of 10,000 Small Business graduates

More Information & How to Apply

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme currently operates nationally throughout the United Kingdom.

If you are interested in joining the Spring 2016 cohort, please take a look at the eligibility criteria and application information.