Liverpool incubator set for summer launch
A NEW high-growth business incubator for Liverpool is aiming for a summer launch from offices at the Albert Dock.
ProjectEV:Liverpool, first unveiled in August, wants to support 15 companies with expertise from lawyers, accountants and business development experts.
The scheme is being led by Manchester-based business networking firm Rejuvenate Your Business which is aiming to pull in £2.5m in cash and kind from private sector partners, and has submitted a £2m funding bid from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
To be considered for the incubator companies must have the potential to hit £1m turnover and employ 10 people within three years.
Rejuvenate Your Business said 70 companies from Merseyside, the UK and overseas had applied to the incubator, but the final 15 has not yet been announced.
It has also commissioned research from the Peel Policy Forum think tank which it says backs up its approach to support all fast-growing firms, rather than just those in the tech sector.
Rejuvenate’s Shazan Qureshi said: “We commissioned this research to underpin and inform the development of the project. We wanted to further understand the current environment and identify the particular blockages to business growth so we could help address them.
“The key to future economic growth is through private sector collaboration. This research has been instrumental in reinforcing our knowledge and also helping us to design such a unique, collaborative and responsive support environment within the hub.”
