From being known as one of the world’s greatest cosmopolitan cities to the second-most connected startup ecosystem across the world, London has come a long way. There is no doubt that London has experienced a rapid rise in startup incubator and accelerator programmes in the past few years, surpassing any other European city. This growth, with the absolute diversity of skills available, makes London a perfect place for entrepreneurs to build their startups.
Let’s take a look at the following list of best startup incubators and accelerators in London.
OneDay.io
Bethnal Green Ventures
Activate Capital
Barclays Accelerator
Entrepreneur First
Collider
Founder Institute London
Hatch Enterprise
CyLon
Founders Factory
JLAB Accelerator
Level39
WeWork Labs
Wayra
The Bakery
Techstars
Startupbootcamp InsurTech
Seedcamp
RocketSpace
Platform-X
Oxygen Accelerator
Microsoft Scaleup
L Marks
InMotion Seed Programme
Launch22
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OneDay.io
OneDay.io isn’t your typical startup incubator. It is a more practical option for a university which wants to help those 50% of the population who want to become entrepreneurs rather than pursuing unappealing careers. Many people eventually become self-employed, enabling them to do what they love every day and fulfill their aspirations!
OneDay.io assists people in achieving their objectives by matching them with a mentor who helps them develop their companies by offering guidance and instructions based on their own successful experience. Additionally, Oneday.io includes a virtual network called “OneDay community” that enables new users to communicate with each other and ask fellow entrepreneurs and trainers for help and guidance on building a business.
OneDay also offers case studies of many other founders outlining how their firms succeeded, enabling aspiring entrepreneurs to gain knowledge from the achievements of other founders.
Bethnal Green Ventures
Bethnal Green Ventures focus on the startups working in the market sectors such as Social, Education, Healthcare, GreenTech and WorkerTech to provide funding and support. Their requirements from the startups are an innovative idea and a team that is ambitious to impact millions of lives and scale up the startup.
Bethnal Green Ventures deals with an investment of £20,000 in cash for an equity stake of 6%. They will provide the startups with mentorship programmes, workshops, workspace, access to investors and industry experts, etc.
Few startups they have supported are AirPublic, Skin Analytics, Commonplace, Workerbird, Health VR, GoodGym, Ally Chatbot and many more.
Activate Capital
Activate Capital focuses on the startups working in Digital platforms to provide funding and support. Their requirements from the startups are to be an entrepreneur with a brilliant digital idea.
Activate Capital’s terms for their deals or their Programme is divided into three phases:
- The Foundation Phase is where they help the startups to validate their ideas and create the business model.
- The Traction Phase is where they let the startups create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) and go through user testing.
- The Build Phase is where the startups will be able to build, launch and scale their product. The investments and the equity stake varies depending on the program phase.
OneDay.io
Barclays Accelerator
Barclays Accelerator focuses on FinTech startups to provide funding and support. Their requirements include innovative entrepreneurs and startups focused on the FinTech industry.
Barclays Accelerator’s terms and conditions for their deal is an investment of £120,000 for an equity stake of 6%. The selected startups will have an opportunity to gain access to workshops and events.
They will be able to work at Rise London and Barclays Eagle Labs’ makers’ lab. They will also be able to receive mentorship from the industry leaders.
Some of the startups they have supported are BaseStone, Oathello, Shieldplay, Stockfuse, Cuvva and many more.
Entrepreneur First
Entrepreneur First focuses on all tech or tech-enabled businesses to provide funding and support. Entrepreneur First chooses people on the basis of their ambition, potential and willingness to make a significant impact.
The terms and conditions of their deal is an investment of £80,000 for an equity stake of 10%. They will help the people to build cohesive teams and develop ideas. The teams will get an opportunity to work with experienced industry leaders and also be able to pitch in front of the investors.
Some of the startups they have supported are Beyond, Affable, Hydroleap, Marble, CodeREG, Represent and more.
Collider
Collider focus on the startups working in the Commerce, AdTech and Marketing sectors to provide funding and support. Their requirements include entrepreneurs who want to develop their ideas and the ones with amazing mad tech talent.
Collider’s terms of their deal is an investment between 50,000€ -100,000€ and access the mentorship of the Collider network for life.
Some of the startups they have supported are Beem, Cooala, Duel, Tailify, Unrival and more.
Founder Institute London
Founder Institute London is a pre-seed accelerator. They focus on all tech or tech-enabled businesses to provide funding and support. They welcome both teams and solo founders at the pre-seed levels as well as those with the ideas or at the initial stage of the company.
Founder Institute London’s terms and conditions of their deal is to support and create a strong support network. They will have to contribute 4% of their equity stake to a shared pool. Any financial returns received are then shared equally with the alumni, founder institute, program mentors and local leaders.
Some of the startups they have supported are Udemy, TravelCar, Realty Mogul, Appota, Ovamba and many more.
Hatch Enterprise
Hatch Enterprise provides funding and support to the startups working in the Social Inequality Issues. They look to work with social enterprises, female founders and young entrepreneurs from disadvantaged communities.
Hatch Enterprise offers three programmes: Launchpad, Incubator and Accelerator to develop the idea and grow the startup. The startups also get access to workshops, mentoring and coaching, coworking space with support and access to a network of fellow entrepreneurs.
Some of the startups they have supported are Built by Us, Hemp and Williams and Snact.
CyLon
CyLon provides funding and support to the startups working in the field of Cybersecurity. They look to work with startups that have a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) and be able to help in securing the digital economy with their innovative ideas.
Some of the startups that they have supported include CyberSparta, CyberSmart, Senseon, Tessian, BitNinja, Meterian and many more.
Founders Factory
Founders Factory focuses on all tech or tech-enabled businesses to provide funding and support. They look for entrepreneurs who want to start or scale their businesses.
Some of the startups they have supported include LuckyTrip, Sampler, Vidsy and much more.
Founders Factory Explained
JLAB Accelerator
JLAB Accelerator focuses on the startups that work in the Retail Tech sector. They look for entrepreneurs or startups who want to bring considerate changes to the retail industry.
They provide mentorship and advice from the industry leaders and a marketplace to test your products or prototypes. Some of the startups they are working with are Memomi, Ruuby and more.
Level39
Level39 focuses on Cybersecurity, Retail Tech and FinTech startups to provide funding and support. They look for ambitious entrepreneurs and innovative startups who are aiming for growth.
They conduct networking events, mentorship programmes, meetups and co-working spaces. Some of the startups they have worked with are Motive Partners, Revolut, etc.
WeWork Labs
WeWork Labs focuses on all tech or tech-enabled businesses to provide funding and support. They also focus on sectors like FinTech, Food Labs, Mobility Labs and Blockchain Labs. They help startups in scaling up their business on a global level.
WeWork Labs does not take any equity in return for their service but the startups or the entrepreneur will have to pay a monthly membership fee. Nothing more than that.
Wayra
Wayra focuses on all tech and tech-enabled businesses to provide funding and support. They search for entrepreneurs who are innovative and wants to create a difference in the market.
They provide different programmes such as mentorship, investor networks, workshops, etc. and also an investment of up to $50,000 to scale the startups.
Some of the startups they have worked with are Hospify, Cybershield, TravelAI, etc.
The Bakery
The Bakery also focuses on the startups that are working in tech or tech-enabled businesses. They look for entrepreneurs, innovators, early-stage startups and late-stage startups with innovative and disruptive ideas.
They have 3 different programs: the start programme, partner programme and the accelerate programme. Some of the startups they have worked with are Qriously, Flourish, Bulbshare, etc.
Techstars
Techstars focuses on all tech or tech-enabled businesses. They look for teams that are balanced and strong with a wide range of skill sets.
Some of the notable startups they have worked with are Coconut, Memgraph, etc.
Startupbootcamp InsurTech
Startupbootcamp InsurTech’s market of focus is Insurance Technology. They look for startups that are at their early stage with the innovative technology in the Insurance sector.
They offer services such as office parks, investor networks, training from industry experts, etc. Some of the startups they have worked with are Relayr, Valoo, etc.
Seedcamp
Seedcamp helps all tech or tech-enabled businesses with startup support and funding. They look for entrepreneurs who are innovative and are trying to solve problems in the larger market sector.
They provide funding of up to £100,000 for an equity return of 7.5%. They also provide networking sessions, mentorship programmes, etc. Some of the startups they have worked with are Monese, wefox, etc.
RocketSpace
RocketSpace focuses on startups based on sectors like Food and Agri Tech & Mobility Tech to provide support and funding. Its program is designed for later-stage startups who are willing to grow their business.
They offer mentorship programmes, access to industry leaders for investment opportunities without any equity requirements. Some of the startups they have worked with are Leap Motion, Uber and many more.
Platform-X
Platform-X focus on the startups that are working in the market sector which include tech or tech enables businesses to provide support and funding. They look for startups that are innovative and wants to bring a change in the market that requires a platform to grow and develop their services and products.
They provide an investment of up to £25M with no equity in return. They also provide mentorship programmes and co-working spaces. Some of the startups they have worked with are RotaGeek, Living Lens, etc.
Oxygen Accelerator
Oxygen Accelerator focuses on the startups that are working in the market sector which include all tech or tech-enabled businesses to provide support and funding. They look for startups with innovative ideas and that can create a high impact in the market.
They provide an investment of up to 21,000€ for equity of 8%. The startups will receive access to mentors and investor networks. Some of the startups they have worked with are Reality Games and Vidsy.
Microsoft Scaleup
Microsoft Scaleup focuses on all tech or tech-enabled businesses to provide support and funding.
They provide startups with mentorship and advice from industry experts and Microsoft sales experts. They also get access to Microsoft events. Some of the startups that they have worked with are GoSlope, Openhour, etc.
L Marks
L Marks focus on the startups that are working in the market sector which include tech or tech enables businesses to provide support and funding. They look for early and growth-stage startups with innovative ideas.
They offer programs that include mentorship programmes from industry leaders, perks from support partners, etc. Some of the startups they have worked with are Winkapp, Ping and more.
InMotion Seed Programme
InMotion focuses on sectors like mobility, travel and transportation to provide support and funding. They look for startups and entrepreneurs with innovative and disruptive ideas.
They invest in startups from the seed stage to Series B level globally. Some of the startups they have worked with are VALIDATED, Transit, Zeelo, etc.
Launch22
Launch22 is an incubator and coworking space that helps entrepreneurs to accelerate to the next level. They offer 3 months program with mentoring and networking events to help your idea and business succeed.
Conclusion
These are the list of top Incubators in London. Startups are receiving significant investments from local capital in the UK and a lot of startups have been setting up in the country. Due to its continuous support towards startups, UK has been seen as bringing their ideas into reality.
FAQs
How many incubators are there in the UK?
There are 343 Accelerators & Incubators in the United Kingdom.
Should you join a Startup Incubator or Accelerator?
Startup Incubator or Accelerator helps the startup at the initial stage to take their business to a higher level. They provide guidance, mentoring, funding, infrastructure, coworking space, investors, etc. to startups in order to scale their business. They can be a good source of advice for early-stage startups.
What is the difference between an incubator and an accelerator?
In simple words, Accelerators focus on scaling a business while incubators focus on innovation.
Which are the top startup incubators and accelerators in London?
Here’s the list of top startup incubators and accelerators in London.
- Bethnal Green Ventures
- Activate Capital
- Barclays Accelerator
- Entrepreneur First
- Collider
- Founder Institute London
- Hatch Enterprise
- CyLon
- Founders Factory
- JLAB Accelerator
- Level39
- WeWork Labs
- Wayra
- The Bakery
- Techstars
- Startupbootcamp InsurTech
- Seedcamp
- RocketSpace
- Platform-X
- Oxygen Accelerator
- Microsoft Scaleup
- L Marks
- InMotion Seed Programme
- Launch22