Analysis by the Enterprise Research Centre compares the performance of over 2,500 10KSB UK graduates with businesses across the economy of a similar size, stage and growth trajectory. They find that in the three years after completing the programme, 10KSB UK graduates increase their revenues by up to 43% more and employ over a third (35%) more people compared to equivalent companies, providing a meaningful impact to the UK economy.

Since 2010, over 2,500 small business leaders from every sector and region of the UK have completed the program. Collectively, this community accounts for an estimated £10.6bn in annual revenue and an estimated 82,000 jobs.

"If you give entrepreneurs the right business education and access to a network of ambitious peers, they can grow faster and become engines for job creation,” said Charlotte Keenan, head of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme. “It's an obvious equation, yet the gap remains and continues to contribute to the UK's persistent productivity puzzle. The past 15 years have shown just how vital entrepreneurship education is and at Goldman Sachs we are proud to have played a part in helping ambitious small businesses become engines of economic growth.”

The report examines the motivations and profiles of the 2,500+ business leaders who have been through the programme, finding that the journey to entrepreneurship often starts at home. Over half (53%) of alumni had immediate family involved in running a small business when they were growing up and of those, 46% worked in that family business before starting their own – highlighting the benefits of exposure to entrepreneurialism and reinforcing the broader imperative for business education, in all its forms.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said “This report shows the huge contribution small businesses make in creating jobs, driving innovation and powering growth across the UK. They aren’t just businesses – they're the innovators, creators and entrepreneurs that keep our economy thriving. The 10,000 Small Businesses programme shows how larger firms can back the next generation of entrepreneurs, and I congratulate them on this 15-year milestone. In the Budget, we acted to make life easier for businesses by permanently lowering business rates for hundreds of thousands of retail, leisure and hospitality businesses, opening up new funding so SMEs can better invest and hire, and backing entrepreneurs with tax reliefs to help them grow.”

The 100-hour business education programme designed for ambitious small business leaders and delivered by the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, also has a significant impact on one of the key challenges facing the UK economy – productivity. 10KSB UK graduates increase their productivity by approximately 14% more than equivalent companies. In addition, based on direct feedback from participants, 85% report improving the quality of a product or service and 93% say they introduced new processes or systems after graduation.

For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.