Create South East announces new cohort of creative businesses from Kent, Essex and Sussex to receive business support, following in the footsteps of 113 local businesses who have already grown on the programme.
- 22 businesses have been selected from a competitive application process to take part in the Stage 2 investment-readiness programme.
- Create South East is a Create Growth Programme, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and delivered in Kent, Essex and Sussex by a partnership between Creative UK with Kent County Council, South East Cultural Economy Network (SECEN), Screen South, Creative Estuary, University of Kent Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries (ICCI), Angels@Essex, University of Essex Innovation Centre Knowledge Gateway, West Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council, East Sussex County Council, Essex County Council, Medway Council and Basildon Council to support high-growth creative businesses to scale and become investment ready.
- In its first iteration, the programme supported 113 creative businesses from across the region.
Today, Create South East announce a cohort of 22 businesses to be taken on to its Stage 2 investment-readiness programme, made possible by the DCMS-funded Create Growth Programme.
The Essex, Kent and Sussex-based creative businesses selected for the programme have already completed a business diagnostics session with industry experts and will now embark on a programme to get their creative businesses ready for investment. The companies represent a range of creative and cultural subsectors, including performing arts, design, film & TV production, and gaming. The programme, which lasts for several months, will include business support and mentoring, tailored specifically to the cohort.
The first iteration of the programme, which ran from February 2023-March 2025, saw 113 creative businesses benefit from one-to-one mentor support, access to tailored workshops, and critical introductions to investors through pitch events.
The programme has also recently introduced a new Strategic Lead.
Jim Byford joins the team bringing a wealth of experience working in the region as a business owner, Innovation and Strategy Director for Wired Sussex & iCrossing, and recent Programme Director for Arun Creative & Digital & Chelsea FC Entrepreneur Programme.
Jim Byford, Create South East Strategic Lead said: “We’re excited to be able to announce the latest cohort of creative businesses to be selected for Create South East. We saw an increase in the number of applications for this round, proving the appetite of creative businesses in the region seizing opportunities to prepare for investment. Through the programme we have seen the ambition and drive of the Creative Industries in the South East – the recent uptick in applications demonstrates the need for programmes like Create South East to help the businesses grow and reach their potential.”
The companies in the cohort are:
- Artist Surfaces, Kent, Design
- Beakus, East Sussex, Media & Animation
- CALMR, East Sussex, CreaTech
- Coolit, Essex, Design & Digital Media
- FieldCraft Studios, Kent, Film & TV
- Forever Video, West Sussex, Film & TV
- Improbable, Kent, Theatre & Performing Arts
- Indigo Productions, Kent, Digital Media
- Joyvié, West Sussex, Design
- Mildbury, Essex, Design & Software Services
- Music Integration Services, Kent, Music
- NeoViews, Kent, CreaTech
- PaintnGo, Kent, Craft
- Playtest Games, Brighton and Hove, Digital Media & Games
- Ponder, Create, Brighton and Hove, Film & TV
- Raven AV, Kent, Immersive
- Scribble & Daub, East Sussex, Craft
- The Gameworks, West Sussex, Games
- ticktockrobot, East Sussex, Animation & Media
- Tatty Devine, Kent, Design
- UK Creative Festival, Kent, Media
- Worlds Better, East Sussex, Sustainability Consultancy
Create South East is one of 12 regions to run the Create Growth programme, which is being delivered by Angels @Essex, Creative UK and Screen South.
