One of Tech City UK’s key partners is the Technology Strategy Board, an agency with a shared aim of accelerating the growth of innovative businesses.

The TSB is the UK’s innovation agency and has dozens of programmes designed to support tech start-ups, from innovation vouchers to assistance with international business missions and online networking platforms. 

Crucially, the TSB brings together business, research and the public sector, to help develop products that will not just meet market needs, but tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy. Ambitious? That’s just how we like it.

For more information visit www.innovateuk.org.

Tech City UK and the Government Digital Services team work together to promote the Digital by Default standard – a commitment by the Government to provide world class digital products that meet people’s needs.

It’s not just a great philosophy, the GDS also represents strong opportunities for Tech City UK companies, in the form of the Government’s G-Cloud and Open Procurement Framework. G-Cloud provides access to commodity, cloud-based services, while the Digital Services framework allows government customers to commission bespoke digital services. 

And who better to provide tailor-made, world-class tech support than the start-ups in Tech City UK.

For more information visit http://digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ 

Tech City UK is the result of a determined effort by Government to support the start-up community in East London, and to help provide strategic direction to these initiatives, The Tech City Investment Organisation (TCIO) has established an advisory board.

Chaired by Rohan Silva, senior policy advisor to the Prime Minister, the Tech City Advisory Group also includes angel investors, CEOs of high-tech start-ups and seed funding experts. 

Like a tech-savvy pick-and-mix, the Board is helping shape how the government supports Tech City UK companies, keeping an eye on national policy changes and making sure we remain a thriving start-up community and a lightning rod for international investment.

In April 2013 Tech City UK met more than twenty influencers across 13 established and emerging technology clusters and formed the UK Tech & Business Alliance.

The aim of the alliance is to share knowledge and best practices; communicate opportunities and information that will benefit the businesses within each cluster, gather input and feedback from each business community and feed this into government. 

But they have further, more wide-ranging goals: to change cultural perception around technology and entrepreneurship, to nurture talent and skills, to support high growth businesses, and to help commercialise great ideas. 

Their second meeting was held in June at Buckingham Palace and hosted by HRH Duke of York. Watch this space and expect to hear more from the alliance soon!

Local London boroughs are a key part of Tech City UK’s success, and we work closely with their planning and regeneration teams, councillors, economists and property teams.

During the Olympics we collaborated with the London Borough of Hackney to showcase talent in East London and a recent review of Tech City UK has seen recommendations for increased  engagement in schools and support for the self-employed. 

As Tech City UK continues to grow so do our relationships with more boroughs, including The City of London, Islington, Newham, Tower Hamlets and more recently Haringey and Westminster.

With more than 15,000 new businesses starting up in Tech City UK last year alone*, local boroughs are taking notice, offering support and helping us grow the next generation of digital start-ups.

For more information visit www.hackney.gov.uk  www.cityoflondon.gov.uk , www.islington.gov.uk, www.newham.gov.uk, www.towerhamlets.gov.uk,  www.haringey.gov.uk, www.westminster.gov.uk, 

The Greater London Authority (GLA) is the Mayor’s Office for London and is a keen partner in Tech City UK.

We work with the GLA on a number of different levels. Firstly, we liaise with them to advocate and represent the tech/creative community on issues of policy, regeneration, city planning, science and technology initiatives and consultations. Just one example of the GLA’s commitment is the project Tech City Stars, which will equip 125 local youngsters with a digital apprenticeship and route to employment.

Tech City UK and GLA also regularly meet to discuss issues including the regeneration of the Old Street Roundabout, broadband networks, visas, East London regeneration and the property strategy for the city fringe. 

The Mayor recently included the importance of digital industry in his Vision 2020 plan – and ongoing support is seeing that vision realised.

To find out more visit www.london.gov.uk 

In November 2010, the Prime Minister set out the Government’s ambition to help East London become one of the world’s great technology centres. The objective was: support the existing cluster by helping to create the right framework for businesses to grow

The Tech City Investment Organisation (TCIO) was established in April 2011 to help achieve this, and were presented with three key challenges from the community.

 Firstly, there were barriers for start-ups such as access to early stage finance. 

Secondly, the community was fragmented with not enough opportunities or places for entrepreneurs to meet. 

Finally, the cluster was not ‘on the radar’ for the global tech and investment community.

The Government has responded by ensuring that national policy promotes enterprise and growth and by shining a spotlight on the cluster at a global level. The Entrepreneur Visa programme, the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme and the opening up of Government procurement have opened up new and exciting opportunities for tech start-ups and international investors. 

They’ve created tax breaks for angel investment and made it easier for tech companies to list on the London Stock Exchange.

The Government and TCIO have also created more opportunities for the community to come together, increasing the likelihood of collaboration and creation. 

One key example is the monthly Tech City Breakfasts held at No. 10 Downing Street, a feedback session that has resulted in changes to the IPO regulations and the development of Tech City Apprenticeships.

Tech City UK is now on the radar internationally. Global corporates including Google have set up shop in East London and investors from Sequoia Capital to Twitter have made deals with local start-ups. 

Thanks to Government support we’ve grown from 15 tech companies in 2008 to topping the chart for new business generation in the UK in 2013 with more than 15,000 new start-ups. 

Working closely with the community has meant that any Government involvement adds to the cluster’s growth by making a catalytic, positive difference. 

For more information, visit 

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/prime-ministers-office-10-downing-street

Future Fifty is a year-long programme for selected growth-stage companies providing bespoke access to expertise within Government and across the private sector.

The Future Fifty consists of 50 innovative technology businesses transforming sectors ranging from ecommerce to medicine, fashion to leisure, consumer goods to property, media and financial services. The programme connects the companies with expertise and tailored support to enable them to scale rapidly and lay the foundations for major liquidity events, including the potential of a listing.  

Future Fifty is managed by a focused team with a mix of private and public sector experience, providing a single point of contact into delivery partners across Government, matching companies with publicly funded schemes and incentives relevant to their stage of growth and specific needs.

A broad range of private sector partner organisations and mentors with deep experience of growth-stage businesses and public markets have also been assembled to provide mentorship and business development support in areas including accountancy and legal advice, corporate governance and support for companies approaching a public listing, marketing and public relations.

Visit www.futurefifty.com for more information or email [email protected].