Not all AI support is cash — sometimes the most useful thing is free, local advice that points you to the right route. That’s what England’s Growth Hubs and the Business Growth Service provide. Here’s how to use them in 2026, cited to gov.uk. (dgm implements osFoundry as an independent partner.)

What Growth Hubs are

England’s Growth Hubs — around 39 of them — are local, free gateways to business advice, delivered with local authorities. They connect businesses to the government’s Business Growth Service and to local and national support, and they reportedly helped around 1.6 million businesses in the last year.

The key thing to understand: they broker advice and signposting. Whether actual cash grants are available depends on what each local hub or combined authority is running at the time — so use them to find support, not as a guaranteed grant source.

The Business Growth Service

Launched in 2025, the Business Growth Service (business.gov.uk) is the single “front door” for SME support under the government’s “Backing your Business” plan. It consolidates mentoring, finance and programmes — including the legacy of Help to Grow — into one place, which makes it a sensible first stop when you don’t know which scheme fits.

Continuity

The government set out plans for indicative multi-year core funding budgets for Growth Hubs for 2026–29, so the network is intended to continue. Local offers still vary, so check your specific hub.

How to use them well

For AI specifically, a Growth Hub or the Business Growth Service can help you:

  • understand which funding routes you’re eligible for (R&D relief, Made Smarter, BridgeAI, devolved schemes);
  • connect to local programmes or grants that happen to be running; and
  • de-risk a project before you commit budget.

What they won’t do is build the thing — that’s a separate step.

Where osFoundry and dgm fit

Once free advice has helped you choose a route, you need to scope and implement the AI project. dgm does exactly that on osFoundry: usage-priced, bring-your-own-key, self-hostable in your own cloud or an EU region for UK data-sensitive work (osFoundry publishes US/EU/JP regions, not a UK one).

dgm is an independent integration partner with zero integrations so far. Free advice comes from the Growth Hub / Business Growth Service. To turn advice into a working AI project, book a consultation with dgm. General information; confirm current local support with your Growth Hub.