A partnership with Leicestershire Business Voice (LBV) is providing businesses working with De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) with the opportunity to expand their networks and unlock new opportunities.
The university has created a dedicated fund to provide selected businesses with a year’s membership of LBV, helping them to stay connected with Leicester’s thriving business community after they have completed programmes such as Help to Grow: Management Course, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), or consultancy projects.
By introducing companies to Leicestershire Business Voice, of which DMU is a member, it helps people develop new business relationships, share experiences with other leaders and continue their growth journey.
Several Help to Grow participants and companies working with DMU have already joined LBV events, including the Annual Members’ Dinner, and have subsequently chosen to become members.
Through LBV, they will have further opportunities to engage with businesses from across the county, share experience and insight, build new relationships and contribute to the wider business voice on the issues affecting growth and prosperity across our area.
Aaron Wardle, Managing Director of Swipe and Tap, which is doing KTP at DMU, said networking had played an important role in the company’s growth.
“When I was first setting up the business, I did a lot of networking and it really benefited us. Events like this are a chance to meet like-minded people, catch up with familiar faces and make new connections. Even if you’re in different sectors, you’re often dealing with the same business challenges.”
Stefan Thomas, who completed DMU’s Help to Grow: Management Course, said joining Leicestershire Business Voice had encouraged him to become more active in the local business community.
“For me, it was the LBV. I thought I’ve got to do something to get myself out there more, so I went along. I had a great time at an LBV event, it gave me that fire in my belly, I am looking forward to meeting people, learning from others and having that support.”
Brayden Cooper, Managing Director of Relio Limited, said: “Help to Grow gave me the framework and the challenge to pressure-test an idea I’d been circling for years, and the confidence to back it. Relio was incorporated during the programme to offer the lettings service landlords deserve – an agent that thinks like an owner.
“Coming into Leicestershire Business Voice off the back of it means I’ve started with a room full of Leicestershire businesses to learn and grow from rather than doing this alone.”
Georgie Gardiner, whose firm Utility Trade is doing a KTP with the university said: “Through DMU we’ve been introduced to a really welcoming network with a great mix of businesses, and it’s helped us become much more connected to the local business community.”
The partnership with LBV forms part of DMU’s wider commitment to supporting businesses beyond individual projects, helping companies access not only the university’s expertise but also the relationships, knowledge and opportunities that come from being part of Leicester’s wider business community.
Professor David Proverbs, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research, Business and Innovation at DMU, said: “At DMU, we want to build lasting relationships with the businesses we work with. Whether a company has taken part in Help to Grow, collaborated with our researchers or worked with us through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, our ambition is to continue supporting their growth.
“Providing Leicestershire Business Voice membership is a simple but effective way of helping businesses become part of a wider network, while strengthening the connections between the university and the regional business community. Some of the most valuable opportunities come through collaboration, and we’re proud to help make those connections happen.”
This relationship is a great example of how our universities, business support programmes and business community can work together to help ambitious local companies grow.
LBV looks forward to welcoming more Help to Grow businesses and to hearing their perspectives as part of our growing membership.
Posted on Wednesday 26 August 2026