Brent Hoberman’s Founders Forum Group acquires Tech Nation
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Founders Forum Group (FF Group), a global community and group of businesses supporting entrepreneurs at every stage of their journeys, has formally acquired Tech Nation.
The transfer will see FF Group continue to execute against Tech Nation’s mission to empower tech entrepreneurs, scale innovative startups, and provide a united platform for UK tech founders.
FF Group will relaunch a number of Tech Nation programmes and reports on the UK tech sector as part of its existing portfolio of events and services tailored to entrepreneurs, continuing to build on the organisation’s activities to date.
Having invited expressions of interest from organisations across the UK, and completed a process of due diligence, Tech Nation chose FF Group to usher the growth platform into a new chapter, given its existing impact in the UK tech ecosystem, and focus on supercharging entrepreneurial growth both in the UK and globally.
Tech Nation, under the FF Group umbrella, will continue to process the Global Talent Visa for the Home Office and applicants can continue to apply as normal with applications in process unaffected, while the Home Office identifies a new endorsing body to take over from Tech Nation.
Tech Nation’s outgoing founding CEO, Gerard Grech and Board Director Sarah Wood will help steer the transition as part of FF Group’s Tech Nation Advisory Board.
In the last decade, Tech Nation has helped shape the trajectory and success of UK tech to be the number one digital economy in Europe and number three globally, valued at $1tn (16x growth in 10 years) with over 20 places in the UK home to one tech unicorn or more. Additionally, a third of tech unicorns ever created in UK history have passed through one of its growth programmes.
Gerard Grech, Founding CEO and Tech Nation Advisory Board member, said: “Founders Forum Group is the ideal custodian to lead Tech Nation into its next chapter. I am confident FF Group will continue the vital work of Tech Nation, leveraging its influential network to evolve Tech Nation’s existing programmes, foster entrepreneurship nationwide, and supercharge scaleups and high-growth businesses across the UK. It’s been a privilege to have worked with so many fantastic people during Tech Nation’s journey to date, and I want to thank the Tech Nation team for all their hard work in making it happen with the ecosystem.”
Carolyn Dawson OBE, FF Group CEO, said: “We’re delighted to be carrying the Tech Nation brand forward and building on the remarkable decade of growth which has resulted in the UK now being third in the world for tech investment. Programmes like Future Fifty, Net Zero, and Rising Stars align succinctly with many of our existing initiatives at Founders Forum Group, as well as our overarching mission to bolster entrepreneurial innovation and support founders at every stage.”
Brent Hoberman CBE, FF Group Co-Founder & Chair, said: “By recognising and fostering remarkable digital talent and accelerating startup success nation-wide, Tech Nation has positioned the UK as a world-class innovation hub. We’re honoured to be inheriting this important mission and marrying our objectives with those of Tech Nation to preserve and expand the UK tech ecosystem.”
