DigitalCity welcomes nine new businesses

Nine new digital businesses are being developed in the Tees Valley thanks to the support of DigitalCity.

The latest cohort of innovative businesses on the DigitalCity Fellowship Accelerator includes a social enterprise games studio, a vlogging platform, an online revision tool and a drone company.

The Fellowship Accelerator is designed for early-stage digital tech companies who have been trading for less than 12 months.

As well as a grant of up to £5,000, DigitalCity Fellows also benefit from a six-month programme of workshops and bespoke consultancy support.

DigitalCity, which is led by Teesside University in partnership with the Tees Valley Combined Authority and part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), was recently acknowledged as one of the key drivers of digital growth in the Tees Valley when Middlesbrough was listed in the Tech Nation 2018 report as being in the vanguard of the UK’s burgeoning digital and hi-tech economy.

The Fellowship Accelerator has helped to launch some of the Tees Valley’s most successful digital businesses.

One of the companies taking part in the current cohort is Many Cats Studios, a social enterprise aimed at helping people with disabilities and learning difficulties find work in the computer games industry.

Founder Chris Goodyear said: “One of the most useful things about the Fellowship Accelerator is the workshops which will be of great help as we develop the business.”

Susan Symonds, who is developing a mental health app, Mindfulness for Health and Wellbeing, added: “The Fellowship is very useful at identifying what barriers there are as we launch the business and looking at ways in which we might overcome them.”

Lynsey Robinson, director of DigitalCity, said: “The Fellowship Accelerator has a tremendous track record of helping early-stage businesses overcome the hurdles which can beset start-ups.

“As a result we have been able to establish a flourishing digital hub within the Tees Valley with high levels of innovation.

“We are pleased to welcome such a diverse and interesting range of businesses onto the latest cohort of DigitalCity Fellowships and we are looking forward to seeing them go on to further success.”

DigitalCity is now recruiting for the next cohort of the Fellowship Accelerator which is due to begin in September. If you have a business idea and would like to apply please contact DigitalCity cluster innovation manager Scott Watson at [email protected] for further information.