A government programme that was founded half a century ago has reached a milestone at Aston University.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) were established to boost UK businesses through collaboration with universities and other research organisations.

As the KTP scheme turns 50, Aston University has reached its own milestone by managing 40 projects concurrently, more than at any other time in its history. This is the largest KTP portfolio in the UK.

Building on the success of the inaugural and second-year Seed Capital Investment Fund, The Dyers' Company has launched the Fund for a third year. This initiative is designed to support innovation and the commercialisation of business ideas within the colouration industry. The deadline for applications is 5th March 2025.

Black entrepreneurs are invited to prepare to be inspired, empowered, and equipped for success as the UK Black Business Entrepreneurs Conference (BBEC) returns for its fourth annual event on Wednesday, 25th June 2025.  This year's conference promises to be the most dynamic yet, celebrating diversity, resilience, and the entrepreneurial spirit.

A new report, launched in Parliament by The Entrepreneurs Network, a think tank, and the Invest in Women Taskforce, an initiative to boost investment in women-led businesses, considers the ways the Government and private sector can act to improve the environment for female angel investors across the UK.

The Invest in Women Taskforce has secured over £250 million of funding to support female entrepreneurs in the UK. This milestone exceeds the Taskforce's initial ambitious goal of creating one of the world's largest investment pools of £250 million for female-led and mixed businesses.

BGF has joined forces with other major investors, including Barclays, M&G, the British Business Bank, Morgan Stanley, the Visa Foundation and Aviva, to announce a commitment to invest in female-founded businesses across the country. Investments will either be made directly themselves or through the ‘Women backing Women' fund.

In a vibrant display of entrepreneurial spirit, SETsquared highlighted the investment potential of university start-ups and spinouts at its Investment Futures event in London.  The event attracted a dynamic crowd of over 300 attendees, bringing together university researchers, innovators, industry experts and investors interested in capitalising on the groundbreaking companies emerging from academic research.

Salesfire - a Middlesbrough company whose platform helps e-commerce stores to increase sales - has raised a further £2.75m from NPIF II - Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).

Scotland's tech showcase, EIE25, will co-host the Tech Tour's Growth Deeptech event next year, bringing later-stage companies and investors from across the EU to Edinburgh in May.

Following a successful debut in 2023, SETsquared's Investment Futures event returns on 19 November with a brand-new line-up of deep tech start-ups and spin-outs pitching for investment and a packed agenda of panels and roundtables designed to shape the future of the investment landscape.

Alongside the roundtable discussions, investors will have the opportunity to see quickfire pitches from 20 deep tech and science-based start-ups and spin-outs from across SETsquared's portfolio. Representing key sectors such as space, FinTech, sustainable tech, EdTech, life sciences and health tech, these innovative start-ups and scale-ups are seeking investments to grow to the next level of between £250k - £10m. View the list of pitching companies.

Lifted Ventures is proudly celebrating its first year of activity, working to proclaim the North of England as the go-to destination for female-founded businesses seeking funding.

Established in September 2023 and officially launching in January 2024, Lifted Ventures set out with a clear mission: to empower and increase the flow of funding to female founders.

Driven by research findings that female-led businesses generate twice as much revenue per pound invested, despite receiving half the capital, Lifted Ventures is on a mission to drive change in the female founder and investment space.

Start-up funding is quoted as the biggest barrier by female founders with less than 1% of all venture funding being investment into businesses founded by all-female teams, according to The Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship report in 2023. Lifted Ventures launched in a quest to make investment accessible to all and promote the business and portfolio benefits to backing female founders, and to increase angel investment activity across the regions.

Birmingham-based venture capital firm Midven, in partnership with The 51% Club, has announced a new initiative that's set to nurture the next wave of high-growth female-led startups. The Fortuna Fellowship is a first-of-its-kind accelerator and will see up to five female-led ventures potentially secure a share of £2 million investment.

European intellectual property law firm, Mathys & Squire, has become an official partner of British Design Fund (BDF), an early-stage investment fund dedicated to supporting the growth of UK engineering and manufacturing start-ups.

Founded in London, British Design Fund backs product-focused start-up enterprises who are ready to scale-up and build thriving standout businesses. Alongside capital investment, BDF provides expert mentoring to support such companies to accelerate their growth plans.