More than 300 jobs were created last year by businesses that are part of SETsquared Bristol, the acclaimed University of Bristol-backed tech incubator.
Its member companies also generated £45m-plus in revenues, raised a combined £50m in funding – up from £33m in 2022 despite the tougher investment market – and achieved record numbers for leadership diversity in 2023. 
Of the 300 new jobs, two-thirds were in the South West, with the fintech, healthtech and engineering sectors creating most employment opportunities.
SETsquared Bristol, which is based in Bristol’s Engine Shed innovation hub, said its work towards gender parity was paying off, with 49% of the incubator’s companies last year led by a women founder or c-suite member.
A quarter of the total investment raised in 2023 went to its women-led companies.
Part of a network of incubators that also includes sites run by universities in Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey, SETsquared Bristol supports the growth of more than 100 technology start-ups, helping them move from initial idea into commercial viability.
Among the member companies generating jobs last year was Loqbox, a wellbeing business focused on financial health.
The 17 jobs it created helped it achieve significant growth, with 2m people to date using it to access a richer life by building their credit scores and growing their savings.
Healthtech start-up getUBetter created 12 jobs to advance its digital self-management support platform for muscoskeletal injuries and women’s pelvic health, which is now used by a third of the NHS trusts in England.
Ten jobs were generated by University of Bristol research and development spin-out after it was awarded £3.5m from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to support the development of its novel gas valve, which is designed to prevent gas leakage and enable the scaling of hydrogen as a clean energy source in the industrial and aerospace sectors.
Actuation Lab CEO Simon Bates said: “In 2022 our team worked incredibly hard to secure development contracts, grants and investment to develop key components for the hydrogen supply chain.
“When they came to fruition, we needed to rapidly expand our team in 2023. Having a strong connection to SETsquared and the University of Bristol has helped us find a group of incredibly motivated team members from operations to engineering.”
SETsquared Bristol is also a dedicated advocate of diversity in tech, with specific programmes, initiatives and events to encourage people from under-represented and minoritised groups to become entrepreneurs in the sector.
These include its Enterprising Women programme, fully funded by NatWest, and inclusivity HR training for its companies delivered by Bristol social enterprise Babbasa.
SETsquared Bristol director Kimberley Brook said: “We’re thrilled to see the impact our companies are having on creation of new jobs for the region and wider, and the breadth of diverse founders finding success in our incubation programmes. We look forward to building on this for 2024.”
Since it was founded in 2002, SETsquared Bristol has supported more than 450 companies in 20-plus sectors raise £710m in funding.
Its incubation programmes include bespoke business support, skills and training, a network of advisers and investors, and a community of start-ups and scale-ups.
It has been named The Europa’s Hottest Accelerator in Europe and UBI Global No.1 University Business Incubator as part of the SETsquared Partnership.
SETsquared Bristol is opening its virtual doors later this month for early-stage tech founders and aspiring tech entrepreneurs to find out how its bespoke business support programme can help them grow their business and make an impact in the world.
The event, between 11am and 12noon on Thursday 14 March, will include talks by director Kimberley Brook, entrepreneur in residence Anna-Lisa Wesley and Sarah Bolt, CEO and co-founder of alumni company Forth, which specialises in at-home health tests for women.
Click here to book to attend.
