Dubbed Ricoh Big Ignite, the year-long Northampton-based scheme will help first-year startups from the local area. Ambitious entrepreneurs will be given advice on everything from scaling to marketing to accountancy during the period.
Seemingly 2016 is the year of the business accelerator, with three launching over the past month – these include Angel Hubs from Barclays, JLAB from John Lewis and TD Ventures from Tradedoubler. Ricoh’s effort will position mentors from across the company as experts to support candidates taking part. Ten companies are registered so far, with three founded from working with the Enterprise programme of corporate partner The Prince’s Trust.
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“We are proud to invest in a project that will inspire and support some of the brightest business talent that Northampton, and indeed the UK, has to offer. The startup scene is one that presents many exciting opportunities and challenges and Ricoh wants to continue to help support these new organisations on the start of their business journey,” said Rick Hewitt, finance director, Ricoh UK.
“By nurturing new skills and talent, we hope this will have a knock on effect on the number of new businesses coming through in the local area, boosting what is already a very healthy and thriving startup environment.”Why did Camden Market partner with a business incubator based on a double-decker bus?
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