Tech: Help for growing UK companies

Help  for innovative UK businesses

Firms across the UK will be able to apply for a slice of £200 million of government support to ensure that innovative British firms can access the finance they need to grow.

The funds will be made available through the British Business Bank which aims to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively.

The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Robert Jenrick, said:

"The UK is creating more start-ups and attracting more venture capital funding than any other European country, but we want to do more to ensure our small businesses and entrepreneurs can thrive."

The British Business Bank currently supports more than £5.9 billion of funding to 82,000 smaller businesses. Businesses that have benefited from this type of funding include artificial intelligence firm, Quantexa, and technology company, Improbable Worlds Limited.

Meanwhile, 20 cyber security companies will make up the first cohort of Tech Nation Cyber, the sector-specific scaleup programme.

The goal of Cyber is to provide the UK’s most promising cyber security scaleups with curated workshops, mentorships, guidance, meetups, and honest conversations, led by expert scale coaches and knowledgeable entrepreneurs. The aim is to cover everything from recruitment, scaling abroad, creating a sustainable company culture and everything in between.

The programme will entail peer-to-peer learning, kicking off at the Farncombe Estate in the Cotswolds on 2–3 May. The cyber growth programme lasts from May to late September 2019.

Margot James, Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, commented:

“This important scheme will not only allow promising cyber security startups to access world-class expert advice but also help us achieve our aim of making Britain the safest place in the world to be online.”

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