DCMS has introduced new grants to enhance innovation in tech-start-ups

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has launched a new grant competition to encourage the growth of innovative technology start-ups and scale-ups across the UK.

Chris Phillips says “successful applicants will play a key role in making the UK the best place in the world to start and scale a technology business.”

Grants have been given to Tech Nation for the previous six years. The government is launching a competitive process to ensure the value of money for taxpayers and to bring in funding that is consistent with most government grants provided under a competitive process.

Commenting on the decision, Jonathan Moyes, Head of Investment Research, Wealth Club, said: “Any competing bidder will stop their work. Tech Nation has done a great job raising awareness of the UK’s evolving start-up ecosystem and helping to nurture promising start-ups and scale-ups.

The Wealth Club sees a significant number of top-performing investment companies in VCTs and EIS funds are tech nation alumni. In March 2022, for example, Credit Kudos, a disrupted credit scoring business and tech nation fintech alumnus, acquired Apple for a reported 150 million. Other alumni who now have household names include Cazoo, Gousto, and Bloom & Wild, as well as Depop, the fashion marketplace, which was acquired by Etsy in 2021 for 1.6 billion. In fact, one-third of all UK-based unicorns have graduated From a program in Tech Nation. Tech Nation is a significant driving force behind the rise of the UK’s venture capital ecosystem and DCMS should be vigilant about anything that could jeopardize it. “