Member Article

StartUp Britain under pressure

A private sector campaign to inject life into the UK’s entrepreneurial spirit is under fire from software companies for recommending overseas competitors on its website.

Sunderland Software City, an initiative supporting the growth of North East England’s software industry, has reportedly written to StartUp Britain and Mark Prisk, the small business minister, to say that it estimates that 79% of the online business tools promoted on the site are based overseas.

Bernie Callaghan, Sunderland Software City’s chief executive raised questions about support for UK-based companies in his letter.

He told the Financial Times: “It seems bizarre that a government-backed scheme claiming to be the cheerleader for British innovation should be actively signposting people away fro British innovation.”

One of the Sunderland-based companies mentioned in the letter as those that offer software for free or on a trial basis is The Test Factory.

The firm now employs a team of 25 since its formation in 2008.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .