Manchester ‘not that well-placed’ as digital hub

MANCHESTER is aspiring to become a world leading “tech city” by 2025 but consultants hired to help set out the city’s digital strategy concede it will be a significant challenge.

A report prepared by the London-based consultancy Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates ahead of a meeting of the council’s executive today says the city is currently “not that well-placed” globally.

It says the digital sphere is crowded and highly competitive with significant investment by both leading digital cities such as New York and Soeul and emerging hubs like Doha and Moscow.

“In order to be realistic about Manchester’s prospects,” says the report, “an appropriate peer group of genuine comparators – mostly found in Europe, namely Barcelona, Amsterdam and Berlin – must be considered.”

But even some of these cities, states the report, are investing “more than one hundred times the much-lauded sum of £12m (awarded via the Urban Broadband Fund) with which Manchester hopes to narrow the gap on the most connected cities.”

According to the council the digital and creative media sector employs 25,000 people in Greater Manchester, 5% of the workforce. It believes 40,000 new jobs can be created in the sector by 2015.

With a lack of cash, Manchester is focusing on nurturing its own “unique ecosystem” as the blueprint for further growth. The Sharp Project in east Manchester, home to around 50 digital and creative firms, is at the heart of this plan.

Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates says the city must become “more adept at harnessing the existing public and private sector support”, retaining skilled talent and driving sustainable innovation.

“And it must overcome a cultural tendency towards self-deprecation in order to promote the genuine success it has achieved historically, and in the recent past, in order to continue supporting the growth and proliferation of start-up businesses, and attract talented individuals and exciting projects to the region.”

To read the full report click here.