The Vital 6% - the businesses making the greatest contribution to growth

The Vital 6 Per Cent. How high-growth innovative businesses generate prosperity and jobs  

Influential research by NESTA in the UK, published in 2009, highlighted that a small number of high-growth businesses are responsible for the lion’s share of job creation and prosperity, and that innovation is instrumental in the success of these businesses.

The researchers found that a small minority of high-growth businesses hold the key to job creation and wider prosperity, with 6% of UK businesses with the highest growth rates generated half of the new jobs created by existing businesses between 2002 and 2008.

Business development initiatives in other areas have found a similar pattern, for example, the economic development team behind Economic Gardening, which started in Littleton, Colorado, observed that just 3 - 5 % of the local businesses were creating the majority of the jobs.

This video interview highlights the importance of second stage growth companies to the growth of regional economies.