Two-thirds of startups supported by the Digital Growth Grant have had founders who are women or from ethnic minority groups, according to the director of Barclays Eagle Labs.
The Digital Growth Grant is a £12m scheme from the government through which a third party supports the development of new tech companies.
The grant was previously given to Tech Nation, however, in January 2023, the government awarded the two-year contract to Barclays Eagle Labs, a tech accelerator owned by the banking giant.
Eagle Labs previously told UKTN that its focus would be on supporting regional and diverse startups, initially aiming for 35% of founders supported by the group to be from diverse backgrounds.
Eagle Labs began deploying the grant in April 2023. Now, a year later, Eagle Labs director Amanda Allan told UKTN the group had surpassed its diversity goal by almost double, with 65% of startups backed coming from diverse backgrounds.
“I think it goes to show how embedded Eagle Labs is in the ecosystem,” Allan told UKTN.
Allan said the 37 locations of the group, including in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, allow it to have a broad approach that is inclusive of many groups.
Another target for the initial deployment of the grant was for 80% of startups supported being based outside of London.
Progress has been a bit slower on the regional front, with the figure at the end of year one of the grant being 74%.
Allan remained proud of the figure, particularly as the team made a point not to “force a curve” to meet targets.
“We were very clear that we wanted to have the best businesses attending the programmes so that it could be the right level of support for the business at that time,” Allan said.
“We will of course continue for grant year two to look at how we can support wider across the UK.”
Eagle Labs’ Digital Growth Grant contract will run until April 2025, at which point it will once again be open to applications.
There is a very real possibility that by that time, the government will have changed following the upcoming general election.
“We’re very aware that we don’t know what will happen after us being stewards for two years for the Digital Growth Grant,” Allan said.
“We’re very open to working with any parties across government to see about what we can further do to support the UK tech ecosystem.”
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