Local entrepreneurs have praised a £4m funding initiative from Manchester council. The funding will be divided between two companies, Manchester Science Partnerships and Allied London Properties and will be used to create new co-working spaces and tech hubs.
The funding has earned a positive response from those who have established their start-up businesses across Manchester or have used the city as a base for their entrepreneurial endeavours.
Vikas Shah, a Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT Sloan who resides in Manchester believes the funding to be vital for the future introduction of new business ideas and the support of existing companies, particularly those in Manchester’s digital and tech-sectors. He said: “For technology companies, Manchester has unique centres of skill and excellence in medical technology, infrastructure, material science, big data and all of these are well supported with funding, great research and more.”
When reviewing how the creation of new workspaces will provide over 2,000 jobs and help to expand the business community and bring entrepreneurs together, he added: “The best deals, and greatest progress in technology is made through the creative collaboration of individuals across sectors and skills, and the concentration of individuals. We now have means that these exciting collaborations are now happening and yielding results.”
Jess Wilkinson, founder and managing director of Petal & Co. a corporate PR company based at Old Granada Studios, suggested that the development of more spaces would also encourage younger generations into working in Manchester. She said: “We’re seeing a lot of start-ups popping up in Manchester, I think there’s a real entrepreneurial buzz about the city and nevermore than it is right now. Seven years ago when I started my career I wouldn’t have dreamt that I’d be running a business but now in the space that we’re in we’re seeing graduates come fresh out of university, setting things up, and doing really well out of it.”
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