The government has announced the first 14 projects to receive funding through its new £1m Regional Tech Booster programme.
The scheme, which aims to provide businesses and entrepreneurs outside London with targeted tech training, expert guidance, and help with building networks, was first unveiled in July.
Among the projects receiving funding are schemes for early-stage gaming start-ups in Scotland, creating pathways from further education to entrepreneurship in Lancashire, supporting tech scale-ups in Yorkshire, an AI innovation challenge in Wales, and accelerating the growth of the advanced connectivity technology industry in Suffolk.
Other schemes will support greater diversity in the sector, with a focus on underrepresented founders. One in Northern Ireland will focus on boosting AI adoption amongst founders, and a West Midlands project will help underrepresented founders.
The programme is managed by UK Tech Cluster Group (UKTCG), which will also deliver a series of investment events. The first two take place in Bristol and Leeds later this year.
Kanishka Narayan MP, tech for growth minister, said:
“We want UK tech to grow and succeed from any and every corner of the country. It’s a no-brainer that supporting projects like these, and encouraging more investment across the UK, will catalyse our tech brilliance to boost economic growth and opportunities for communities nationwide.”
UKTCG’s Dr David Dunn said:
“The sheer volume of strong applications we received shows there is a huge desire to grow tech ecosystems across the whole of the UK. As the projects are delivered, we are excited to share learning across other ecosystems – it is this multiplier effect of knowledge transfer that really makes the Regional Tech Booster initiative valuable.”
The full list of projects that have been awarded funding is here.