The money, which won’t be available until next Spring, will come out of the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund.

Creative England is one of a number of bidders in line to receive investment through the second round of the UK government’s £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund (RGF).

It will use the £5m to fund ‘Digital Champions’, a private sector-led scheme providing “development funding and market expertise to small creative and digital businesses working in cross-platform content and services.”

However the funding will not be available until next Spring.

Small companies working in TV, games, mobile and broadband will be invited to collaborate with “commissioners” to develop new market propositions and content. Participating companies include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Cisco and Sony Computer Enternment Europe.

The scheme also promises to provide match funding and additional support to creative and digital businesses in the North and North West, Birmingham and the West Midlands, and the far South West, which according to Creative England have been “identified as vulnerable to public sector job losses and with lower levels of enterprise and private sector growth.”

“Within a month of kicking off the new agency, we are delighted to be able to announce funding for our first non-film sector initiative.  Creative England’s core mission is to unlock potential for small businesses in the creative industries, and help them seize the massive opportunities presented by the digital revolution,” said Creative England CEO Caroline Norbury.

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