Middlesex University was excited to host the Barnet edition of the London Growth Hub Business Roadshow – a series of business support events for SMEs held under the auspices of the Mayor of London’s local enterprise partnership body.

The event, organised by national SME community Enterprise Nation, was opened on behalf of Mayor Sadiq Khan by Deputy Mayor for Business Rajesh Agrawal. Rajesh spoke of SMEs as the “life-blood” of the capital’s business sector, and told the story of his arrival in the UK from India with £200 to his name, securing his first business loan and building up his company RationalFX, which has had a transformational effect on international money exchange. The setting for the talk was particularly apt as Rajesh’s business partner, Paresh Davdra, is a Middlesex alumnus.

The Deputy Mayor described the next steps for London Growth Hub as a one-stop shop information, advisory and mentoring service, with the launch this autumn of physical hubs where businesses can meet dedicated business support experts.

Enterprise Nation’s founder Emma Jones and Middlesex’s Director of Careers and Employability Alan Stuart also spoke. Presentations and workshops throughout the rest of the day included sessions on fund-raising, featuring equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs; pitching to buyers; and online security, led by Police Digital Security Centre’s National Cyber lead Neil Sinclair. Among 22 exhibitors with stalls were NatWest, the British Library and the British Business Bank.

Alan Stuart said he was particularly pleased about the Roadshow’s visit, since “it is critical that our students have as many opportunities as possible to connect and engage with business – large and small.

“Middlesex is a dynamic place to be right now,” Alan added.

“Events such as this highlight the win-win opportunities for business and enterprise to tap into the next generation of innovators, creators and future leaders and for students to immerse themselves in projects. At MDX we continue to connect students via multiple collaborative models to start-ups, SME’s and social entrepreneurs, ensuring we are developing tomorrow’s brightest talent”.