Europe’s cyber security accelerator program helps entrepreneurs
A new program to support cyber security startups will help develop innovative technical solutions. Start ups who want to offer cyber security solutions will be able to get help, advice and support through the early stage accelerator program to develop their products and services and bring them to market.
The £250,000 program – the first of its kind for the UK cyber security sector – will be run by in partnership by Cyber London and the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen’s University Belfast.
The new program will:
- Increase the rate of new cyber security start-up development in the UK
- Help entrepreneurs develop, test and validate the commercial viability of their ideas and help transform them into viable businesses
- Help identify new business ideas from the UK’s leading cyber security knowledge base
- Provide a space for collaboration with the early stage start ups as they develop.
The program will help ideas which may currently struggle to gain investment funding because they are at an early stage and not yet fully developed.
It is part of the Government’s wider strategy to promote the UK cyber security industry which has grown rapidly in recent years and is now worth £17.6bn – up 70% since 2013 – and employs over 100,000 people. The program will be open to applicants in March.
“CSIT and Cyber London are at the heart of the UK’s cyber security start-up ecosystem and together we bring a strength of cyber capability, a track record of producing and nurturing start-ups, and an ability to leverage significant additional industry and innovation support partnerships from across the globe,” said Stephen Wray, Commercial Director of CSIT.