New investment company set to bolster regional enterprise
As part of the launch of the inaugural Birmingham Tech Week, the creation of a new investment and advisory company that aims to act as a catalyst for the growth of the region’s tech sector has been announced.
The Ark will bring a platform to the West Midlands that converges the region’s high growth enterprises with angel investors, access to expertise and a wider community of innovative companies looking to grow and scale.
The Ark seeks to address the major constraint to growing tech clusters outside of London and capitalises on Birmingham’s entrepreneurial ‘ecosystem’ – with the city ranked as the UK’s leading regional location for start-up creation for five consecutive years.
Co-founder of The Ark, Rupert Lyle, said: “No organisation in the Midlands or even the UK has ever truly harnessed the potential economic value-add of a network of individuals in this way. The Ark seeks to harness expert advice, access to networks and investment potential, and use it in a way that helps Midlands’ entrepreneurial talent convert drive, vision and energy into successful high growth businesses or even life changing social enterprises.
“Central to The Ark is a holistic support service to help businesses reach their potential from partners that will include universities, incubators, venture capital firms and angel organisations. The West Midlands’ represents the largest tech cluster outside of London – it is a region built on innovation and community spirit, so what better location to launch this unique and ambitious platform and put regional talent on the map.
“We are looking for both successful business people and owners of high growth businesses to come on the journey with us.”
Hosted by Birmingham Tech Week in partnership with the West Midlands Growth Company – the organisation responsible for attracting businesses and investment into the West Midlands – the launch event for Birmingham Tech Week 2019 featured a range of speakers at the Millennium Point venue. Delegates heard from Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands; Mike Jackson, Entrepreneur Success Director at Tech Nation; Robert Franks, Managing Director at WM5G; Tim Kay, Tech Lead at KPMG in the Midlands; Jill Palmer, CEO at Click Travel; Liam McGrath, Group COO at Advanced and Judy Groves, Director at SCC, part of Rigby Group.
During the event, Street announced the 10 organisations from across the region that will be offering a combined 2,000 training places as part of the £5m Beat the Bots funding programme. Launched earlier this year, the fund will facilitate digital upskilling, safeguarding thousands of jobs from robots.
Street said: “From my days at John Lewis, I know just how fast technology moves in business. Artificial Intelligence, self-driving vehicles and robotics are getting better, and, in reality, it is only a matter of time before real people will lose out to bots in the fight for jobs.
“That is why the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has launched the Beat the Bots fund, which is a chance for workers in the West Midlands to gain invaluable digital skills to prepare them for the jobs of the future.
“Our digital industry is booming, employing an estimated more than 100,000 people by 2030, and I want local people to have the skills they need to lead this thriving sector.”
