Acclaimed technology incubator SETsquared Bristol, led by the University of Bristol, is relaunching its Breakthrough Bursary for the fourth year, continuing its commitment to tech inclusivity. 

The bursary is for UK tech entrepreneurs from a minority ethnic background, providing access to tailored business support at heavily discounted rates. This includes coaching and mentoring, advice clinics, events, skills and training workshops and support to raise investment.

Awardees also benefit from SETsquared’s supportive community and three months free access to desk space in a shared office at Engine Shed.

The initiative is kindly funded by SETsquared Bristol alumni members and the University of Bristol.

Fourteen companies have been recipients of the bursary to date including South West-based startups FluoretiQ, Gritty Talent and LatchAid, and have raised a combined £2.7 million in investment. 

Inclusivity tracking tool Inclued was one of five bursary awardees in 2021. Inclued’s Founder and CEO, Joyann Boyce, who has since been named one of the South-West’s 42 Under 42 by Insider Media and TechSPARK’s Top 50 Rising Star, said:

“My experience of the Breakthrough Bursary has been nothing but positive. As an entrepreneur you often feel like you are out there on your own, but SETsquared Bristol provides a supportive community of founders at all stages. Access to the Entrepreneurs in Residence has been fundamental to mapping out our investment strategy.” 

Another of last year’s bursary recipients, Ali Kazmi Founder of the UK’s first dedicated, ethically compliant investment platform, Ethical Equity, said:

“Being part of SETsquared Bristol via the Breakthrough Bursary has been instrumental to our success. In particular, having access to market/founder insights and SETsquared’s extensive network.” 

 Marty Reid, SETsquared Bristol Director, said:

“Inclusive and sustainable growth is more vital than ever in our current climate. Our ambition is to work towards levelling the playing field for minoritised groups within the tech sector by improving access to support, investment and networks. We look forward to welcoming new awardees with exciting ideas to our community.”

Since SETsquared Bristol launched the Breakthrough Bursary in 2019, companies at the incubator with founders from a minority ethnic background have increased from 14% to 24%. This compares favourably to the UK average where less than 9% of senior tech leaders are from a minority ethnic background. 

Any UK-based entrepreneurs from a minority ethnic background can apply for the Breakthrough Bursary if they are developing a tech startup, or growing an existing company.

Find out more and apply by 7 November 2022.

The Founders of Niyo Enterprise are empowering black women through technology by kick starting the ‘Black Disruptor’ Accelerator. Sponsored by the West Midlands Combined Authority, Niyo Network has secured a contract to facilitate Accelerator Bootcamps that are uniquely designed for the benefit of Black female business founders and Black females changing to careers in tech within the West Midlands. The first of these bootcamp accelerators will be launching in May 2021.

Black women are still heavily under-represented in IT & Tech roles; in comparison, across other occupations, their level of representation is 2.5 times higher (according to BCS chartered Institute for IT). The Black Disruptor Accelerator programme has been designed to specifically target this issue head on by taking on women who would not be able to afford learning to help them develop skills in AR & VR by offering training and providing job readiness for the tech industry for free.

Find out more about the ‘Black Disruptor’ Accelerator.

In our eighth roundtable session as part of the national Recovery Roadmap program, the group discussed how Women are underrepresented in tech — a recent poll said only 8% of women hold tech roles as software engineers. A diverse workforce makes better businesses; how do we work better to support marginalised talent to step up and lead in the public & private sector? What role does technology play in improving our businesses and organisations?

We are significantly pushing women out. We are already falling behind in terms of skills and making progress in this space. If you look at the data around women in STEM, the progress we’ve been making on getting young women into STEM is 0.25% each year, for the past four years. So in four years, we’ve increased the number of women in STEM by 1%.

Zara Nanu, Global Future Council at World Economic Forum, CEO at Gapsquare

Watch the roundtable discussion

In the UKTCG’s third roundtable event, a panel of experts explore how digital skills and capabilities will be essential in the new normal enabling the UK’s economic recovery.

1. Ben Shorrock, Managing Director TechSPARK, UKTCG Steering Board
2. Sarah Fry, Research & Development, TechnologyOne
3. Zara Nanu, Global Future Council at World Economic Forum, CEO at Gapsquare
4. Marina Traversari, Global Head of Startup Ecosystem, Telecom Infra Project
5. Katie Gallagher, MD, Manchester Director, Director Digital Her
6. Lucy Paine, Director, Tech Swindon
7. Jess Philips, Enterprise Innovation Manager, Tramshed Tech