News / SETsquared Bristol
Tech incubator supports creation of 300 new jobs
Companies that are part of SETsquared Bristol have created hundreds of new jobs in the last year.
The University of Bristol tech incubator supports more than 100 technology startups, helping them transition from idea to commercial viability.
Latest reports from SETsquared Bristol have revealed that these companies created 300 new jobs in 2023 – 200 of which are in the South West region, with the highest number of jobs created in fintech, healthtech and engineering.
The tech startups who have been supported by the incubator also generated more than £45m in revenues, raised a combined £50m in funding and achieved record numbers for leadership diversity in 2023.
Loqbox, a wellbeing business focused on financial health, created 17 new jobs. So far, it has achieved significant growth, helping 2m people to date to access a richer life by building their credit scores and growing their savings.
SETsquared is an incubator that supports over 100 technology startups, helping them transition from idea to commercial viability
Healthtech startup getUBetter created 12 new jobs to advance its digital self-management support platform for muscoskeletal injuries and women’s pelvic health. Its app is now used in over a third of NHS England.
University of Bristol spinout, Actuation Lab, created ten new jobs. Last year, the startup was awarded £3.5m from the Department for Energy Security and Zero’s Net Zero to support development of its novel gas valve, designed to prevent gas leakage and enable the scaling of hydrogen as a clean energy source in the industrial and aerospace sectors.
Simon Bates, chief executive of Actuation Lab, said: “In 2022, our team worked incredibly hard to secure development contracts, grants and investment to develop key components for the hydrogen supply chain. When they came to fruition, we needed to rapidly expand our team in 2023. Having a strong connection to SETsquared and the University of Bristol has helped us find a group of incredibly motivated team members from operations to engineering.”
SETsquared Bristol boasts of being an advocate of diversity in tech, with specific programmes, initiatives and events to encourage under-represented and minoritised groups into tech entrepreneurship. These include its Enterprising Women programme, fully funded by NatWest, and inclusivity HR training for its companies, delivered by Babbasa.
It has highlighted that its work towards gender parity. in the tech sector is paying off, with 49 per cent of the incubator’s companies in 2023 being led by a women founder or C-Suite member (exclusive-level managers within a company). Furthermore, 25 per cent of the total investment raises in 2023 came from its women-led companies.
“We’re thrilled to see the impact our companies are having on creation of new jobs for the region” – Kimberly Brook
Kimberley Brook, director at SETsquared Bristol, said: “We’re thrilled to see the impact our companies are having on creation of new jobs for the region and wider, and the breadth of diverse founders finding success in our incubation programmes. We look forward to building on this for 2024.”
All images: SETsquared
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