Basingstoke ObserverOVER 150 businesses leaders, and decision makers from local authorities and education providers joined EM3 Local Enterprise Partnership at its 2022 Annual Conference to celebrate the success of the LEP and share plans to continue to drive economic growth across Hampshire and Surrey.
Opening the event at Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre, EM3 Chair Michael Queen described the LEP as having “the DNA of a high-tech start-up.”
He told delegates: “This creates remarkable results and explains to people how an organisation with relatively limited resources can make such a big impact.
As the country faces the headwinds of inflation and labour shortages, and potentially low growth, at EM3 we are determined to go forward with our partners to make sure the region is known as the innovation region of the UK - the place of choice for those high growth, high valued companies.”
Explaining how this can be achieved, Michael, who was attending his first EM3 AGM as Chair, launched the LEP’s strategic plan, “We recently announced our new vision for a high growth economy and will focus all our efforts on that goal.
We will work with all of our partners, in the areas where EM3 has proven expertise and we will provide support to high potential sector clusters and we will provide tailored business support through our Growth Hub.
We will be helping our businesses to achieve carbon friendly growth and compete in international markets, and we will be working to attract new investments into our area and enhance conditions where innovation and enterprise flourish.”
The event was the first in-person conference for the LEP since 2019 and was the final one for EM3’s long-serving Chief Executive Kathy Slack OBE, who is set to retire in June after leading the LEP for more than 10 years. Speakers paid tribute to the impact she has made on the EM3 area over the last decade.
