Manchester-based investor Praetura Ventures has launched a programme to support early-stage startups in the North West.
The programme, called PraeSeed, is aiming to fill the pre-seed funding gap in the region by investing up to £6m across 35 startups over the next five years.
PraeSeed will begin in June, with workshops and an assessment period lasting six weeks. Up to seven successful companies will be in line for follow-on investment.
It will work alongside existing accelerator programmes in the North, including Baltic Ventures in Liverpool and Exchange in Manchester.
The programme will be led by Praetura Ventures investment manager Jess Jackson.
“Praetura wants to help build the region’s next break-out success stories by supporting them from the very beginning and helping them get started the ‘right way’,” said Jackson.
“The programme will focus on assessing the businesses first and foremost, but will also be accompanied by our curated mix of content from those who’ve been there before and help plug them in to the Praetura community.”
Applications open at the start of May, with up to 10 businesses set to be selected for the early-stage programme based out of Praetura Venture’s Manchester office.
It follows Praeutra being selected to jointly manage the British Business Bank’s second Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, which will deliver £660m to startups across the North of England.
Praetura Ventures is one of the most active VCs in the North of England, having backed prominent northern startups such as Modern Milkman in Lincolnshire, XR Games in Leeds and Manchester’s Arctic Shores.
Listen: Tackling the North-South tech funding gap – Praetura Ventures’ Jess Jackson
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