Member Article

International tech entrepreneurs set up in North East with accelerator help

Tech entrepreneurs from as far afield as Costa Rica and the US have set up shop in Newcastle as part of an international effort to bring promising graduates to the UK.

Accelerator organisation Ignite100 are guiding nine international teams through a three month start-up programme as part of the UKTI-backed SIRIUS scheme.

The cohort includes a pair of French entrepreneurs who have developed contactless payment wristbands for the likes of festival; a group developing a marketplace for meeting rooms; and a group building languaging learning Apps.

Just a week in to the scheme and some of the businesses are already beginning to generate revenue and consider their future recruitment.

Ignite100 programme manager Tristan Watson explained that SIRIUS is intended to bring international graduates to the UK where they can establish their businesses and ultimately create jobs.

The nine teams who have recently set up inside Ignite100’s new Campus North facility in Newcastle city centre were cherry picked for their tech ideas, akin to Ignite100’s burgeoning alumni.

Tristan told Bdaily: “The teams undergo three months of the normal Ignite accelerator, but we’ve actually going to be supporting them for a further nine months - so 12 months in all.

“It’s about bringing these entrepreneurs to Newcastle and showing them the benefits of setting up in a region which has great connectivity, low cost of living, and a wealth of exciting technology creators.

“We’re keen to get these bright, young entrepreneurs thinking about establishing their bases in the region and employing skilled people here.

“Normally Newcastle wouldn’t be on their radar, but once they’re here and we demonstrate what the opportunities are like - it’s a very plain to see. Ignite100 has a very high regional retention rate and it’s create to build on that.

“Even those who don’t stay in the region leave with a sense of what Newcastle is about.”

Under the SIRIUS programme the teams are provided with a £1,000 per month living wage, as well as support from UKTI.

The current cohort of have come from France, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rico and the US.

To be eligible for the programme, teams must have graduated in the last three years, and half must be non-British.

Tristan added: “For us it’s been fantastic to extend the Ignite100 network and get these team working with each other, and North East firms. It’s also great to have UKTI shouting about Ignite100 on the international stage, and it’s helping to build our profile as an accelerator.

“For the teams, they’ve been able to come into Campus North at our ‘beta’ phase and see how we’re working. They’re all taken with Newcastle and the benefits of being here - not least the brilliant tech ecosystem and the cheap cost of living.”

Ignite100 is one of five accelerator partners facilitating the SIRIUS scheme around the country.

As part of the programme Tristan and the Newcastle group will also host other teams working across UK accelerator sites - exposing them to the wider North East tech community.

Alexis Garavel, a graduate of the French Aerospace Engineering School and a co-founder of SunEos, one of the Sirius Programme teams said: “One of the key benefits of the Programme is that we don’t need to give up any equity.

“We can’t wait to start tapping into the extensive networks the Sirius Programme offers and to start growing our business with confidence knowing we have the support of our Accelerator and UKTI.

“Young people are our early adopters so, with the most concentrated student scene in Europe, the UK is by far the best place to establish our business.”

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