SETsquared, the highly-successful business incubator backed by the University of Bristol, has been named as one of the UK’s most dedicated champions of entrepreneurs.
SETsquared, whose Bristol base is at the Engine Shed at Temple Meads, will compete in the national finals of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards next month after judges were impressed by its nomination, which showed how it has supported 1,000-plus entrepreneurs over more than a decade. 
It is competing in the Entrepreneur Champion of the Year category, which celebrates organisations giving unwavering support to entrepreneurs.
A partnership between the universities of Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey, SETsquared specialises in growing hi-tech start-ups through its incubation programme and other acceleration services. Among the help it provides for entrepreneurs is business mentoring, access to investors, training and links to influential bodies and organisations.
Earlier year its business incubation programme was ranked the best in Europe and second in the world.
SETsquared innovation director Simon Bond said being nominated for a Great British Entrepreneur Award was a real testament to the hard work and knowledge of everyone involved.
“We’re very proud of the work we do with entrepreneurs and start-ups and it’s fantastic to be recognised for that,” he said.
Awards founder Simon Burton added: “Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the economy. They question the received wisdom, drive change and create opportunities. They rescue failing industries and invent entirely new ones. Entrepreneurs make something of nothing.”
Over the past 11 years SETsquared has nurtured more than 1,000 high tech start-ups, and helped them to raise £1bn in investment. Entrepreneurs and start-ups that have received help from SETsquared have created world-changing technologies, including swine flu detection kits, ground-breaking crowd sourcing websites and microchips that help people in remote areas create their own phone networks.
Winners of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards will be announced on November 19. Follow @setsquared on Twitter for live updates from the night.
