Twenty-one early-stage businesses from across the North have joined an accelerator designed to help underrepresented founders secure their first institutional investment.
The companies make up the third cohort of Venture Forward, an Innovate UK-backed programme delivered by GC Angels, the venture capital investment arm of The Growth Company.
Running over eight weeks in Manchester, the programme will provide founders with expert-led workshops, one-to-one mentoring, practical fundraising guidance and direct access to investors.
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It is being delivered in partnership with NatWest Accelerator and NatWest Venture Banking. Following its completion, GC Angels will offer up to £500,000 in equity investment to standout founders.
GC Angels said the first two cohorts supported 52 companies, with 18 subsequently raising a combined £4.6m. It has also invested £720,000 directly in four participating businesses.
Women account for 52% of the latest cohort, while 52% of its founders are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 64% are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
The businesses come from Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and North Wales and operate across sectors including life sciences, cybersecurity, climate tech, medtech, healthtech, FMCG and edtech.
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Marc Shirman, GC Head of Equity Investment, said: “The success of the Venture Forward programme is really a testament to the incredible founders we have here in the North. Having launched our first cohort one year ago, 18 founders have already secured investment following the programme, with this seed funding being the essential first step in creating the next generation of scale-up businesses. Now as we launch cohort three, we’re committed to continuing this work and ensuring Northern founders have the confidence, knowledge and skills to attract investment.
“Central to Venture Forward’s ethos is ensuring founders who have traditionally been underrepresented have access to targeted support. This is about building a diverse early-stage ecosystem, closing knowledge gaps and ensuring any ambitious founder, no matter their background, can build and scale a business of their own. We’ve already proven how effective this support can be, and I can’t wait to see what our next cohort will go on to do.”
The third cohort is:
- Seqesta — Faha Shaikh and Jonathan Jepson
- Bollyfit Training Ltd — Shamime Jan
- Giftettes Ltd — Sharon Biddell
- CyberSafe Coach Plus Ltd — Lee Lawrenson
- Umbizo Software Solutions Ltd — Zoher Kapacee and Heather Robinson
- Airlyte Innovations Ltd — Thrupti Shyagale Mallikarjunappa
- Aeralung Technologies Ltd — Dr Charuni Dissanayaka, Nimanya Gunasekera and Dashmi Wijerathne
- Anomalyse — James Rynn, Jim Harris and Matt Kelly
- SecureInfo — Suke Ridler and Stephen Hogben
- NewLig Ltd — Corey Robinson
- ChewChew UK Ltd — Thomas Minnock and Suebsakul (Aaron) Tonjang
- Humant Group Limited — Dominic Kirkman, Yolanda Arveda and Lauren Kemp
- Bloomr — Soni Zaman
- The Unconventional Group Ltd — Aisha Hanif
- Koitech Global Ltd — Tombari Giokabari, Peter Melling and Bola Lafe
- Daughters of Mars Ltd — Lucy Hope
- The Car Concierge — Zaen Nakvi
- EaziQuote Ltd — Mathew Potts
- Work Xp — Kirsty Doyle
- Rubato Technology Ltd — Ni Cai
- Doctor Shrooms — Kian Greenhalgh
