Business accelerator moves to bigger premises to spark growth
A Birmingham-based business accelerator is moving to bigger premises in the city centre to ensure it continues to meet demand for its services.
Entrepreneurial Spark Powered by NatWest will be opening its new hub in Brindleyplace in February with the aim of creating a new enterprise hub for the city’s budding entrepreneurs.
The programme, which claims to be the world’s largest free business accelerator, is currently housed in the main NatWest office at St Philip’s Place.
It was set up to equip entrepreneurs with the skills needed to make their business a success.
The programme is divided into four phases: Sprint, Enable, Grow and Scale which are aimed at businesses at different life stages. The programme also includes support from partners such as KPMG, Dell Technologies and Pinsent Masons.
The Birmingham hub is one of 13 across the UK. Since launching in 2015, the Birmingham hub has tutored more than 200 entrepreneurs and contributed more than £9m of investment for the local economy.
The programme had been operating from NatWest’s offices in St Phillip’s Place but as the hub has developed, the time was right to move to new home. The new site includes meeting pods and an events area which can be used by other organisations supporting enterprise.
Lee Currier, Entrepreneur Development Manager at NatWest, said: “We are really excited about our new hub in Brindleyplace. The organisations that are already (there) are a mix of creative firms and larger corporates so our entrepreneurs will feel a part of a dynamic business community when they move in.
“We want to create a centre for all things entrepreneurial that supports the wider Birmingham and West Midlands ecosystems. The new space will also provide our entrepreneurs with a unique working environment where they can work collaboratively with other entrepreneurs.”
Programme graduates Chris Meah and business partner Bhish Patel joined the scheme in August 2015 with their business, School of Code. School of Code is a multiplayer coding platform, using gamification and social learning to encourage people to learn how to code. Users learn how to code together with a mentor, and even compete against each other.
Mr Meah said the business had benefited significantly from the help it had received.
