Britain’s growing number of accelerators has boomed by over 110% in the past three years, and now a new one based in the heart of Salford’s MediaCityUK hopes to capitalise on the growing talent in the area.
The UP accelerator will help startups develop their business by offering deskspace as well as mentorship, professional services and developing links with potential investors.
Part-funded by Creative England, the University of Salford and the Peel Group, UP is looking for early stage startups with an existing prototype in the media tech sector.
Read more: Britain’s startup accelerators boom by 110% in just three years
Applications are now open and close on 9th January.
Manchester’s media scene
Manchester has become a rapidly growing hub for the creative and media industries in the past few years following the relocation of a number of BBC services from London.
Commenting on the launch, Jim Farmery of Creative England said:
Manchester is known as one of the biggest clusters for creative and digital businesses in Europe
TechNorth
The accelerator’s announcement and the growth of the media hub around Salford comes as a boost to the Government’s ambition to growth the north of England as a tech cluster to complement London’s.
In October, Nick Clegg announced the TechNorth initiative, hoping to promote and bring in foreign direct investment to the growing tech clusters around Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle, Sunderland and the Tees Valley.
You can read our interview with Nick Clegg in our upcoming print magazine.