“Let’s fill South London with startups”
So said, Scott Collen of South London-based Quib.ly, as we had a drink in The Goose pub in Croydon last week.
Scott is typical of many people I’ve come to meet in the last few months who are not from Croydon but reside in South London. Although the Croydon Tech City movement is less than six months old it is already making substantial waves in the capital – particularly south of the river – and increasingly, interest is being show by isolated tech startups from surrounding areas such as Beckenham, Sutton and Clapham.
As startups from across South London start plugging into Croydon Tech City at an increasing rate – the question arises: should we welcome them into the fold or encourage them to start ecosystems in their own areas?
For now, as Croydon Tech City begins to flourish, we want to welcome ‘foreigners’ from outside of the borough who either have no burgeoning startup culture in their own area or feel they cannot make a home in East London’s Tech City. South London as a borough is way too immature and large as an area for tech startups to operate in, dislocated from one another, so – to my mind – it makes sense to congregate in a strong epicentre (Croydon) and then build out from there.
Only then, can we fill South London with startups.
Matthews Yard celebrates its first birthday
For those who don’t already know, Matthews Yard is a cafe, theatre, art studio and co-working space just off Surrey Street market in central Croydon.
Matthews Yard opened in April 2012, six months after the Croydon riots, and was built and funded by the remarkable Saif Bonar, who is both manager and proprietor.
As acting UK MD for Freelancer, Saif was once as far removed from the world of baristas as can be, but now his second venture means he has to juggle both building a software and a cafe empire.
Not only is Matthews Yard incredible place to go to – there is no where else like it in Croydon – but it also attracts some of the boough’s most talented and creative people. It is a true community hub with a weekly art installation, reading groups, a craft club, a trade school, independent film nights, club nights and most importantly – the best coffee in South London!
Matthews Yard is integral to the Croydon Tech City movement as both the venue of CTC’s monthly meetings and Croydon Creatives – a monthly meeting of South London’s software developer community.
One of the key aims of the Croydon Tech City movement this year is to create a vibrant and populated tech startup community working out of the Matthews Yard workspace. So, if you’re considering hotdesking or semi-permanent office space – check out what I consider to be South London’s answer to TechHub.
Croydon Code Club project continues
There are 95 primary schools in the London borough of Croydon and, unless something changes fast, we will raise a generation of children who are profoundly lacking in the coding skills which will become increasingly necessary for professional and social development over the next decade.
To rectify this, Croydon Tech City has created a dedicated Code Club committee (see below) to recruit and train volunteers, as well as liase with primary schools to get Code Clubs into Croydon’s primary schools from Summer Term 2013. 
Fantastically, off the strength of February’s Croydon Tech City: Code Club special – the team is soon to start twelve pilot projects in local primary schools. Not only is Croydon Tech City starting to change lives in the present, it is making small steps to secure young people’s futures as well.