There have been mixed reactions to the news that the Digital Greenhouse – Guernsey’s innovation hub – will either have to close or find a new private or voluntary sector owner.
The government-backed organisation, which costs taxpayers less than £500,000 a year, describes itself as a “home for entrepreneurship and innovation on island” and provides services including startup programmes and co-working space.
One business owner working from the hub told Express it was “fine” to consider a different ownership model “as a long-term ambition, but to pull the plug with NOTHING else in place is crazy, idiotic and rude to all the entrepreneurs – current and aspiring – of Guernsey now and in the future”.
They added: “Previous reports have shown that there is a valuable ecosystem offered by the Greenhouse which is at threat of being wantonly shattered by a metaphorical brick through the window of home-grown businesses and talent.”
Another entrepreneur who uses Digital Greenhouse’s co-working space told us: “The uncertainty is frightening and unwelcome.
“The DGH does not cost a huge amount in the grand scheme of Guernsey’s budget and fosters a very special community who can share ideas and make things happen by being co-located.”
‘DG was the reason I moved back after uni’
Product designer Nathaniel Moseley-Jones launched bicycle tour company Unventured.com, with the help of the Digital Greenhouse’s Startup Academy – an eight-week programme to help budding entrepreneurs.
Posting on social media, he said the Digital Greenhouse was “a key reason I moved back to the island [after] university”.
He added: “As someone who has been lucky enough to have been in two digital internship cohorts through the DG, I would not be where I am now without it.
“For the past 7 years I have worked in the tech sector in Guernsey due to these internship opportunities.
“More recently the Startup Academy has helped me along the road to bringing my business idea to life.
“I would say that’s tangible and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.”
‘Meant to be more than hot-desking’
However, while people involved with the Digital Greenhouse were understandably nervous about the news, others felt less conflicted by the decision.
Deputy Haley Camp, who left Economic Development earlier this year in protest at the committee’s leadership style, told Express she hoped the committee would “take this opportunity to reimagine what government-backed business support should look like”.
She added: “The Government has an important role in enabling innovation and enterprise, but in recent years the Digital Greenhouse has perhaps come to resemble a managed workspace more than a genuine catalyst for new ideas and business growth.
“This is an opportunity to be more ambitious and strategic; to consider how government can help attract, nurture and retain innovative enterprises, and demonstrate clearly that Guernsey is a jurisdiction in which innovation is welcomed and supported.”
Deputy Camp said that after 10 years of operating, the States hadn’t been able to “demonstrate how its support has translated into tangible outcomes of the vision behind Digital Greenhouse”.
“It certainly was intended to be more than a hot-desking venue,” she added.
A-level study space
One Facebook commentator agreed with Deputy Camp, saying: “Facts please. How much have the businesses incubated here grown, and are the successful entrepreneurs now able to incubate the next cohort?”
“Or is this all mere puff?”
They added that their “son bought a subscription to use their desk space to study whilst studying for A-levels”.
“So I think ‘study space’ remains a market that remains to be satisfied.”
Another social media poster questioned whether the organisation would “continue to be a financial burden to taxpayers… no surprise there then”.
