Plans for a £4m tech-incubator will drive innovation and employmentPLANS to splash £4m on a new tech-incubator sited in the Northern Quarter’s Federation House have won approval from the city’s digital sector chief.
More than 80,000 square feet of floor space set over eight floors will be repurposed as a thriving digital hub ‘…nurturing start-ups, fostering collaboration and providing mentoring, learning and business support’ – the Government said in their Budget 2015 announcement.
The news builds on the findings of a recent report by Tech Nation, which revealed a 70 percent growth in digital companies in Greater Manchester between 2010 and 2013.
“We have some of the best engineering talent in the world – and international tech businesses are now considering Manchester for their UK headquarters,” Doug Ward, the founder of Tech Britain and head of the Tech City Cluster Alliance in Manchester, told the Manchester Evening News.
“With the local tech community growing quickly – and the recent announcement of Tech North – Manchester is on its way to becoming a top-five European start-up destination.”
Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne expressed their hopes that the hub follows the success of London’s Tech City.
An additional £7m has been set aside to finance similar hubs in Sheffield and Leeds.
