Birmingham Tech CIC, the organisation responsible for promoting and coordinating the West Midlands Tech ecosystem, has joined the UK Tech Cluster Group (UKTCG), a group of organisations that work with and have a deep insight into geographical clusters of technology and digital businesses across the UK.

Birmingham Tech will now share knowledge from the West Midlands tech ecosystem, joining other regional tech clusters across the UK.

Yiannis Maos, CEO of Birmingham Tech commented:

“It’s great to be working with the UK Tech Cluster Group and we are very proud to be feeding in understanding of the West Midlands region. Through this new appointment, we will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure newfound insight and opportunities are shared – enabling an ecosystem built on collaboration and knowledge. This comes at an exciting time for the West Midlands tech cluster with EA’s recent acquisition of Codemasters for $1.2 billion and Goldman Sachs announcing they are to open a Tech Hub in Birmingham. Working with the UKTCG will also ensure we collectively make the case for more investment in our tech clusters.”

The organisations that make up the UKTCG are all focused on growing tech businesses, championing innovation and building stronger regional economies. Together, they work with thousands of companies and organisations, delivering regional programmes and events and connecting businesses with collaborators, funders and talent.

David Dunn, Chair of the UK Tech Cluster Group and CEO of Sunderland Software City, commented:

“It’s great to have Birmingham Tech join the UKTCG and have Yiannis join our team. We already have a wealth of insight from across the UK and having the West Midlands represented will only strengthen our knowledge and capability – making our voice even stronger at national level. Working alongside Birmingham Tech and our other representatives, we will continue to ensure that our regional tech clusters get the support they need to drive forward our regional economies.”

The UKTCG, in collaboration with London Tech Week, recently published the 12 Clusters of Tech report into the West Midlands which highlights some of the 13,000 tech firms employing over 100,000 people across the region. You can read the report here.

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.