Updated on 7th November 2024

Incubators and Accelerators Helping Startups Succeed in Leeds

Supercharge your growth with these incubators and accelerators.

Written on Business Updated on 7th November 2024

From networking to business coaching, support is never far away from the city’s startups.

Leeds has a thriving startup scene, and one of the reasons for that is the abundance of business incubators and accelerators in the city. They give young businesses the support they need to succeed, helping them to overcome the challenges of starting a business. But what’s on offer in Leeds and how can they help you make the leap from startup to scale-up?

Spark at the University of Leeds

Spark is the business startup service at the University of Leeds. They help young entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into a viable business. The dedicated team is on hand to offer advice and up-to-date information to help you get started.

They also offer mentoring, workshops and enterprise scholarships to maximise impact. Although this service is designed for students at the university, it’s available to graduates up to seven years after they complete their studies.

Help to Grow at Leeds University Business School

A classroom full of women and men at LUBS Help to Grow

If you’re a senior leader at a small business looking to improve your management skills, Help to Grow could be the perfect fit for you. This 12-week course teaches the fundamentals of management via a practical curriculum, peer learning and one-to-one mentoring.

You’ll also get access to the business school’s SME Hub, offering networking opportunities, events and more. With 90% government funding, it’ll only cost you £750 – a small price to pay for the knowledge you’ll take on.

KPMG@Nexus

The atrium of Nexus in Leeds

Credit: Jonny Burrell

KPMG has teamed up with the University of Leeds’ innovation lab Nexus to create a dedicated business incubator to offer advice and support to scale-up businesses.

Designed to support innovative businesses who would benefit from the combined knowledge and expertise of the two institutions, KPMG@Nexus is currently open and accepting applications. Successful applicants get free and unlimited access to knowledge and research, as well as peer-to-peer support and space to work within Nexus.

Indielab

A man's hands in front of a laptop on top of a desk

Established in 2015, Indielab works to support businesses in the UK’s creative sector. They run dedicated accelerators throughout the year, both nationally and regionally.

Their West Yorkshire programme, delivered in partnership with Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), aims to create growth and commercial success across TV, games, film and animation. To date, participating companies have added an average of £0.5 million of business in the year immediately following their programme.

NatWest’s Entrepreneur Accelerator

This Leeds business accelerator comes from banking giants NatWest, offering a range of free services designed to help you scale up faster. From one-to-one coaching to focused support within your specialism, they go all out to fill the gaps in your knowledge and help you maximise the potential of your business.

There are plenty of useful thought leadership events and networking opportunities, but that’s not all, because participants also have access to the co-working space in their Leeds hub.

Platform

People sitting and working in the co-coworking space at Platform

Credit: Ben Blackall

Platform is more than just a co-working space. It’s a technology hub where freelancers, startups and scale-ups work side-by-side with global leaders. In fact, there are 80 disruptive tech businesses within these walls.

It’s a thriving community where peer-to-peer support is a given, but they also offer a range of services to help support your growth, with trusted advice, regular events and those all-important introductions to mentors, investors and city stakeholders.

Accelerate at Leeds Beckett

People in a class at Accelerate University Business Centre Leeds

This 6-month structured accelerator programme is designed to help you understand how to sustainably grow and develop your business. Accelerate isn’t just open to students, any business in the Leeds City Region can apply and they take on new cohorts annually.

If you’re successful, you’ll get one-to-one support, advice on funding and dedicated networking opportunities, as well as masterclasses covering everything from value propositions to business models.

Start-Up West Yorkshire

WYCA Skills Connect

If you’re looking to start a business, or you’re running a business that’s been actively trading for up to three years, you could be eligible for fully-funded support from Start-Up West Yorkshire.

Headed up by West Yorkshire Combined Authority, you’ll work directly with an experienced Business Adviser who’ll help you put together a personalised action plan to build a sustainable business. You’ll also get access to workshops, webinars and networking opportunities.

Tech Nation

A man talking to a woman wearing tech glasses at at Tech Nation event

Tech Nation needs no introduction. It’s the national growth platform for tech companies and leaders. They run a whole host of accelerator programmes, many of which focus on specific sectors or growth stages, and accept applicants from all over the UK.

Their programmes are honed and targeted to give businesses the support they need to succeed, whether you’re an early stage company joining the Rising Stars or late stage company joining the Future Fifty.

AD:VENTURE Northern Max

a man and a woman laughing in an office near their laptops

Although it’s focused on Bradford, the Northern Max accelerator is open to all tech businesses in the Leeds City Region. It’s a 10-week programme of collaborative workshops designed to grow and develop your business.

Every week, you’ll have a half-day workshop focused on a skill or competency. They’re run by industry experts and you’ll get a recording to review after the session. The programme also provides access to grants, mentors and expert panels.

Help to Grow at Leeds Beckett

A group of people talking at Leeds Beckett University

Credit: Leeds Beckett University

Another university offering the Help to Grow initiative is Leeds Beckett. The 12-week programme is made up of online sessions, face-to-face learning and one to one mentoring, designed to boost business performance and resilience, while helping fuel long-term growth.

What’s more, the hands-on curriculum will also help you to to hone your skills including leadership, digital adoption and employee engagement. The course is 90% funded, with participants contributing £750.

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Ali Turner Senior Writer

Ali is one of the original founders of Leeds-List. An adopted Northerner, she's lived in Leeds for 18 years, and written about it for the last 12. In that time, she's explored every nook and cranny of the city, and covered a good swathe of Yorkshire too.

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