NatWest is launching a £1 million competition for entrepreneurs, offering small businesses the chance to accelerate their growth by winning a share of funding.
The bank is marking the tenth anniversary of its Accelerator programme, which was founded in Birmingham in 2015. Since then the bank has grown its accelerator hubs to 12 sites across the UK.
Around 500 entrepreneurs have been assisted through the Cardiff Accelerator Hub, which has seen supported businesses create more than 400 new jobs and raise £12 million in investment.
The bank says it will “significantly expand” its support by offering 10,000 entrepreneurs the chance to join its Accelerator community in 2025.
It is also set to partner with up to 10 UK universities to open new business accelerators in the next three years.
The bank said it wanted to target businesses in the ‘innovation economy’ in particular, in sectors such as technology, healthcare tech, life sciences and fintech.
The new £1 million pitching competition will see a series of competitions running throughout 2025 and beyond, with each final offering an individual prize pot of £100,000. Judges will select five finalists to attend the first live final in Manchester in July 2025.
Robert Begbie, CEO of NatWest’s Commercial & Institutional franchise, said:
“It’s a testament to how much the Accelerator has achieved that today we are setting out plans for its expansion – starting with our ambition of supporting up to 10,000 entrepreneurs in 2025.
“As the UK’s biggest business bank we are ambitious for the UK and believe that by unlocking the potential of entrepreneurs we can support sustained economic growth. The next stage of the Accelerator’s expansion will involve partnering with more UK universities, combining our strengths to help entrepreneurs commercialise their ideas and kickstart economic growth.
“As we celebrate the milestone of the Accelerator’s tenth anniversary, we are also excited to launch NatWest Pitch today, a new £1 million pitching competition offering small businesses the opportunity to win a share of the funding to fuel their growth. We’d encourage any entrepreneurs with big ambitions for their business to apply.”
