The eagerly anticipated Kent and Medway Business Summit has secured another key sponsor for the event in April.

For the second year running, it has agreed a partnership with the British Business Bank.

The one-day networking event is organised by the Kent Business School at the University of Kent.

Bringing together some 300 businesses, key policymakers and leading academics, the bank will join headline sponsors Kreston Reeves and Thomson Snell & Passmore in supporting the summit which takes place at the university's Canterbury campus on Wednesday, April 27.

Originally scheduled to take place in January, it was pushed back three months amid concerns over the rising number of Omicron cases.

As the UK government’s economic development bank, the British Business Bank has a mission to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK, and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses.

Dean of Kent Business School, Prof Marian Garcia, added: “The bank is an important partner in driving economic growth and in the journey to net zero which is a central theme of the summit and of crucial importance for our region.”

Susan Elliott, senior manager for the UK Network (South East) at the bank said: “We are really looking forward to meeting visitors to the event, both in person and online, and helping smaller businesses looking to start up, grow, understand their options and access the finance they need to succeed.”

The bank will be hosting a panel discussion on finance for the move to net zero as part of the summit.

Other topics to be covered at the summit's panel discussions and keynote speakers will include tackling the skills shortage, realising the potential of the county's cultural and creative industries, and how to build resilience and increase productivity in SMEs.

To register for the summit, click here.