Manchester Digital says it wants to support 20 tech startups in every Greater Manchester borough after winning funding from Barclays for a business support programme.
The industry body has secured funding for the Barclays Eagle Labs Ecosystem Partnership Programme to offer support for 200 startups and founders across Greater Manchester.
The new project aims to “create opportunities for investable, scalable businesses, leading to more high quality jobs across the whole region”. It will start with a series of roadshows working with 20 startups in each GM borough. In phase 2, 100 startups with the most high growth potential will be onboarded onto a more intensive programme
Manchester Digital will work with local authorities to identify entrepreneurs and encourage them to join the programme. It will sit under the organisation’s existing Startup Activator programme, which launched last year.
Manchester Digital managing director Katie Gallagher said: “Our Startup Activator programme offers a bold vision of a hyperlocal, inclusive, and thriving startup ecosystem across Greater Manchester. Our plan is to catalyse the creation of exceptional, startup tech businesses across each of the 10 boroughs in the Greater Manchester region by giving networks of diverse founders the help and support they need to build their own tech business.
“Diversity is the cornerstone of developing innovative products and services and by connecting people from diverse backgrounds to the assets and support to grow and scale a tech business we will create high quality jobs right across the region.”
Amanda Allan, director of Barclays Eagle Labs, said: “We are excited to be facilitating this funding to help Manchester Digital support its Startup Activator programme and we are very much looking forward to seeing this support reach 200 tech businesses in the region.
“Using our Ecosystem Partnership Programme, we are allocating funding to organisations like Manchester Digital which are already plugged into their regional ecosystems. We are proud to be able to support such projects, which are designed to help early-stage tech entrepreneurs. Our support for Manchester Digital and similar organisations highlights our ongoing commitment to support the tech sector, which is vital to the continued growth of local economies across the whole of the UK.”
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