Bristol entrepreneurs are being invited to apply for a place on a free accelerator programme offering support, mentoring, networking and office accommodation in the city.
Entrepreneurial Spark, which is backed by NatWest, will open the hub for start-up businesses from all sectors this summer. Applications are now open.
Up to 80 fledgling businesses from across the West of England will be housed in the ‘hatchery’ – giving them access to physical office space with superfast internet, a start-up bootcamp, dedicated mentoring, regular events, workshops and training for six months.
The most-promising businesses will then be offered the chance to continue for a further 12 months in the ‘nest’ – a grow-on programme aimed at helping them reach their full potential.
NatWest, a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland group, claims the national project is the world’s largest free entrepreneurial accelerator. Three accelerators are already operating successfully in Scotland. In three years they have supported 350 businesses which have between them have created more than 1,000 jobs, achieved a combined turnover of £41m and secured investment worth £18m.
The first hub south of the border opened in Birmingham last month. Following Bristol, which will be the second, further hubs will open in Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff and Belfast – with a further location being considered.
The Bristol hub will be NatWest’s Trinity Quay office in Avon Street, close to Temple Meads and the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.
The survival rate of businesses helped by Entrepreneurial Spark is 83.4%, according to its CEO Jim Duffy – around double the national average.
He said: “Launching in the South West is very exciting. Bristol is a city with a growing entrepreneurial culture, and we want to help nurture that and allow start-up businesses to reach their full potential.”
NatWest managing director of business banking for South West and Wales, Haydn Thomas, added: “This is a superb opportunity for budding entrepreneurs and those who have just started on their journey in Bristol and the South West to access some first-class support. The successful applicants will get to work in a collaborative atmosphere in our offices in Trinity Quay and will have plenty of access to the local team from NatWest as well as our wider networks.
“We hope to receive lots of exciting applications from across the city and across the South West. The local economy is experiencing solid growth and this is reflected in the increasing confidence we are seeing among our business customers. These are the ideal conditions in which to launch this new hatchery and I’m confident we’ll see some great South West success stories emerge from it.”
Applications are welcomed from any sector, from idea and early-stage businesses to those who have been trading for up to four years and turn over £1m or less.
Regular competitions within the hatchery will offer prizes of up to £50,000 in investment, while a programme of events will include days to bring the whole entrepreneurial eco-system of investors, entrepreneurs, advisors and NatWest relationship managers together.
Pictured, from left: Jim Duffy of Entrepreneurial Spark, Haydn Thomas of Natwest, and Gordon Merrylees, head of entrepreneurship for RBS
