Lt-Governor visits future of working
THE Lt-Governor has paid a visit to the island's innovation hub, which has grown into an entrepreneurial community.
Lt-General Richard Cripwell visited the Digital Greenhouse as he was eager to learn more about the facility and how people will work into the future.
‘It seems to be such an obvious thing that I’d never heard of,’ he said.
‘It’s a really interesting mix in the ways that people are using the space and why they’re using the space.’
He met staff from the Digital Greenhouse, two members of Economic Development, Deputies Steve Falla and Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, and three entrepreneurs whose businesses have been supported by the organisation.
Victoria Holyoak is the founder of the British Birthing Academy, a digital platform and Guernsey-based business offering birth preparation courses led by midwives.
As well as a pre-birth course, her business, supported by the Digital Greenhouse, also offers one-to-one online midwife sessions, filling gaps in the NHS where women have difficulties accessing a midwife.
‘We used this space to establish the course and do the market research around it, we use it for meetings, and it has been really helpful connecting with other people in this space,’ she said.
‘What I like about the Greenhouse is the flexibility of it because I’m a shift worker, so sometimes I’ll get up and do a couple of hours before my shift and couple of hours when I get back, so I like that I can come down here 24 hours a day and I use it a lot at weekends as well.
‘I would use it moving forward because from a productivity point of view, the wifi is great here, and it is really helpful for networking.’
She added that the space was cost-effective for a start-up business, and breaks up work and home life.
The Digital Greenhouse was established in 2016 and has seen significant growth, particularly since the pandemic.
‘A large number of people are reconsidering the skills that they have and how they might develop their careers moving forward and for a lot of them, that involves starting their own business,’ said Digital Greenhouse director Lucy Kirby.
‘They’ve got to a point in their careers where they’ve built up a good set of skills and they need the support to translate that into a business that they can grow and for the majority it is tech-based.’
The support provided by the organisation varies from a space to work and meet clients, one-to-one sessions, larger skills events and networking opportunities.
