SETsquared, the University of Bristol-backed innovation partnership, has been named as the best in the world after creating 9,000 jobs and contributing £3.8bn to the UK economy.
From its launch 13 years ago, SETsquared – which has its Bristol base at the city’s Engine Shed innovation hub – has supported more than 1,000 hi-tech start-ups to develop and raise more than £1bn of investment.
In Bristol it supports 64 member firms employing more than 840 people. Since 2007, businesses supported by Bristol SETsquared have raised more than £188m.
The partnership, which also includes the universities of Bath, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey, currently supports 265 companies.
SETsquared, claimed top spot on the University Business Incubator (UBI) Index’s global list after rising from number two last year. The table is the first global index to benchmark the performance and best practice of university business incubators.
SETsquared supports hi-tech start-ups through its incubation programme and other business acceleration services.
Bristol SETsquared Centre director Nick Sturge said: “This caps another fantastic year for us. It also marks our second full year in Engine Shed, in Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, and this has proved exceptionally useful.
“SETsquared in Bristol continues to evolve and we remain on the lookout for the most exciting, hi-tech, high-growth startup and established businesses. This award demonstrates the holistic value that we can add to businesses, wherever they have come from and whatever the sector. Bristol is now even better placed for growth. With this award and the stronger local investment eco-system, the future is very, very bright.”
Successful companies supported by the Bristol SETsquared Centre in the last year include BluWireless, Reach Robotics, Ultrahaptics, YellowDog, Neighbourly, Folium Optics, Boxarr and many others – all raising significant investment or winning awards in their own right.
Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson added: “This is tremendous news for SETsquared and of course for Bristol, adding more weight to our excellent reputation as a centre for innovation and a magnet for hi-tech businesses.
“When we launched Engine Shed two years ago – a pioneering partnership between Bristol City Council and the University of Bristol - we had a vision to create an inspiring place in the Enterprise Zone where fledgling businesses could thrive, be supported and collaborate with each other.
“SETsquared has played a huge part in making that vision a reality and this new global accolade is a fitting recognition of the quality of their support and commitment to growing businesses.”
SETsquared innovation director Simon Bond said: “It’s an incredible achievement to be recognised as the best university incubator in the world, and we’re all absolutely ecstatic with the news. Everyone involved with SETsquared works extremely hard to fulfil our commitment to helping entrepreneurs and start-ups and the ranking is a real testament to the skill and innovation of our staff, as well as showing how vital our services are in each area we operate in.
“The UK was recently ranked as the second most innovative country in the world by the Global Innovation Index as a result of its performance in infrastructure, market sophistication, knowledge, technology and creative outputs.
“At SETsquared we’re very proud to help put the UK on the map as one of the top performing countries in the world for innovation and will continue our dedication to helping grow entrepreneurs and start-up businesses to their full potential.”
The UBI Index is the first global index to benchmark the performance and best practice of university business incubators. The organisation held continental rankings around the world, culminating in the global ranking event in London yesterday.
Co-founder and director of research at UBI Global, Dhruv Bhatli, said: “We’re delighted to see SETsquared named as the best in the world. The partnership’s continued dedication to entrepreneurs and start-ups has resulted in high economic impact and growth for the companies it supports.”
Companies based at SETsquared take part in schemes such as its Entrepreneurship Training Programme, which helps entrepreneurs turn their business ideas into investor propositions; Researcher to Innovator, a three-day residential course to help early stage researchers acquire the skills to turn projects into commercial realities; and the ICURe Innovation to Commercialisation Programme, which is funded by InnovateUK and HEFCE, to help market validate commercialisation opportunities from research.
Pictured: The SETsquared team celebrate gaining top spot on the UBI Global index
