A new £1.5m accelerator has been set up to encourage businesses to become part of the UK’s commercial space sector.
The UK Space Agency Accelerator opens today, with 180 entrepreneurs getting the chance to access specialist coaching, networking and business support.
It comes as the sector continues to gain pace in the North of England, with the North East, Cheshire and West Yorkshire hosting the UK’s first Space Enterprise Labs (SEL) and Lancashire MP David Morris becoming the country’s National Space Champion.
The UK Space Agency is investing £1.5m in the accelerator, which is managed by Entrepreneurial Spark and Exotopic. Rather than just being aimed at traditional space-orientated companies, this is open to all sectors from “farming to engineering and manufacturing.”
“The UK Space Agency Accelerator will help entrepreneurs across the country start and grow their space businesses, joining the UK’s thriving space sector, which already employs 47,000 people,” explained Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency.
“Businesses taking part in our pilot accelerator programme in 2021 went on to attract £8.79 million in further funding. This highlights the value we seek to bring as an Agency: catalysing investment, delivering space capabilities and championing space. Now we want to aim higher, opening up space to industries and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds across the UK who had perhaps not considered space as a viable route to market.”
