NatWest opens doors to UK’s entrepreneur community
NatWest has today announced it is opening its doors to new applications to join its in-house Entrepreneur Accelerator programme, offering a fully funded support programme for UK scale-ups and high growth businesses looking to scale and succeed.
The bank is now accepting applications from growing businesses with ambition to scale to join the programme, with aims to support around 1,600 businesses through the programme next year.
Businesses on the programme are provided with free office space in one of the bank’s 12 hubs around the country with free wifi and printing, with the programme providing focussed support on the recognised barriers that entrepreneurs face, including access to funding, new markets, infrastructure, leadership and coaching. In November, the programme was formally endorsed by the Scale Up Institute, a not for profit organisation which aims to make the UK “the best place in the world for SMEs to scale up.”
NatWest has to date supported over 15,000 entrepreneurs through the programme, creating nearly 1,300 jobs and contributing in excess of £103m to the UK economy – with nearly half of all businesses supported female led.
Gordon Merrylees, MD Entrepreneurship, NatWest, said: “I’m thrilled to be opening our doors to applicants for our new 2020 intake to our Entrepreneur Accelerator programme for our fifth consecutive year helping the UKs brightest new businesses grow. We want to give all businesses the best possible chance of success and welcome applications from business people and entrepreneurs looking to thrive in a supportive environment. I’m really excited to see another diverse, disruptive intake joining us for 2020 and beyond.’
The bank offers the its Accelerator programme as part of its wider Entrepreneurship initiative, which also includes Pre-Accelerator and Fintech programmes, offered to early stage start-ups, and those that focus on the financial technology sector respectively.