Member Article

Ignite100 plot major city centre space for North East tech entrepreneurs

The team behind Newcastle-based technology accelerator programme Ignite100 have revealed plans to grow a 10,000 sq ft co-working hub in the city centre.

A new base at Carliol Square will be developed to house some of the successful business to emerge from the Ignite programme, along with international entrepreneurs and freelancers from across the region.

Ignite’s success to date has left the organisation busting at the seams at its current loft space on Westgate Road.

Outlining the plans to Bdaily, Ignite programme manager Tristan Watson, said profits from consultancy work were being used to open the hub, and a forthcoming Kickstarter will seek £12,000 towards works.

Tristan said: “Ignite was only intended to be a three month programme - but it got so successful, and the companies that came out of it wanted to stay in the region - hiring and taking more desks.

“Although we haven’t got the official ‘not-for-profit’ label, we’re really eager to put all the profits back into making something for this thriving community in the North East.”

Tristan explained the space will provide co-working facilities, desk space for freelancers and office space with flexible terms for start-ups.

As well as a new incarnation of the Ignite100 programme, which is due to unveiled in coming days, the space will host international technology entrepreneurs who are looking to establish their companies in the UK.

Ignite have been chosen to deliver UKTI’s ‘Sirius Programme’ which aims to encourage European talent to bring their creative and technological skills to the UK.

Tristan added: “We’ve been supporting the tech community with meet-up events and we really want to extend this by giving people a great place to do this in - sharing ideas, staging hack events and providing education resources.

“Part of this new hub will be about providing facilities for people who want to learn how to code - whether that’s as a hobby or a new career.

“Our dream is for people to meet up, get enthusiastic about an idea and start working on it together. Gradually they get to the point where they can devote more hours to it and it begins to take shape as a business.”

Update: the Ignite100 kickstarter is now open, and rapidly ascending towards its £12k goal. Take a look here.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .