The government has unveiled 14 projects under a £1 million Regional Tech Booster programme, bringing training, guidance, networks and investment events to technology businesses across the UK. At last, local innovation can receive the support it deserves: a lanyard, a name badge and a stranger saying “interesting” while checking whether the biscuits have arrived.
The programme covers Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England, because good ideas should not have to move within walking distance of a London coffee machine before anyone agrees they are promising. Its stated aim is to help local technology businesses grow, create opportunities and spread the benefits of the sector beyond a capital city where sandwiches are routinely described as founder fuel.
The projects will provide targeted training, expert guidance and help with building networks. Some support Scottish games companies. Others help founders in Wales, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Northern Ireland and elsewhere develop businesses, adopt artificial intelligence or reach investors. This is the useful part, assuming nobody mistakes a branded tote bag for an economic strategy.
Regional expertise already exists. It merely requires support rather than another delegation from London arriving to discover it, praise its potential and leave with the only working charger. The programme might even allow local founders to meet investors without first translating their business into a presentation about disrupting something that was functioning perfectly well.
Investment events in Bristol and Leeds will connect businesses with backers through the National Investment Corridors initiative. The Office of Entrepreneurial Refreshments has positioned a tray of biscuits between the pitches and the people who say “interesting” while scanning the nearest exit.
“We are building stronger local ecosystems,” said Nerys Launchpad, Curator of Genuine Introductions. “An ecosystem is a place where everybody has a lanyard and nobody can remember the Wi Fi password.” Nerys is an established fictional comic voice, not a source quotation.
The projects also promise support for underrepresented founders and communities that have found it harder to access investment, advice and useful professional networks. That gives the scheme a purpose beyond turning every town hall into a mood board for a fictional app that delivers ambient soup. The test will be whether the support opens doors, rather than merely teaching everyone how to stand beside them holding a cup.
By the closing session, a founder had found an investor, an investor had found a business plan and the business plan had found a biscuit crumb. The crumb was the only participant with a clear route to scale, a sustainable growth model and no need to attend another workshop about unlocking potential.
Real story: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
