International Startups Wanted for UK Accelerator
by Startacus Admin
StartPlanet NI is on the lookout for international and local startups to join their upcoming accelerator programme in the Northern Ireland Capital of 
Belfast.
NI and Belfast have a huge amount to offer new and growing businesses with a rapidly developing Startup ecosystem and a heritage of invention, innovation, and excellence.
As its name suggests, StartPlanet NI will nurture Northern Ireland startups alongside their international counterparts on a 50/50 basis with the aim of building NI’s next generation of world class businesses.
Could Northern Ireland be the ideal place for you to grow your budding tech business?
What’s StartPlanet NI all about?
StartPlanet NI is Northern Ireland’s newest startup accelerator programme and is designed to help high potential local and international startups access early-stage support and private equity investment in Northern Ireland.
The first cohort will consist of both local and international businesses which are made up of technology based ideas in the Knowledge Economy sectors.
What can startups expect?
The StartPlanet NI accelerator is backed by an expert team of an internationally credible pedigree. Led by startup stalwart, mentor and founder Bill Liao, SOSventures European Venture Partner (also co-founder of CoderDojo and founder of WeForest.org), he is joined by Wayne Murphy - Accelerator Manager with Belfast based Diane Roberts from Xcell Partners running the programme.
In addition each company successfully selected for the accelerator will receive:
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Equity investment of £15k
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Up to a further £250k available per cohort
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3 months of intensive mentoring and support
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Access to a state of the art co-working space for 3 months - with the option to stay for a further 6 months free of charge
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Legal and financial support
The 3-month long accelerator will be based in Revolution BFS, a new purpose-designed accelerator and coworking space located in the heart of Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter. This space will be part of a global network of SOSventures Revolution co-working spaces – from San Francisco and Shenzhen, to Cork and New York.
Belfast for Startups
Belfast and Northern Ireland are great places for new, high potential, and fast growing businesses.
With relatively low living costs, a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and a highly educated workforce, Belfast is a prime location to start a technology centred business. 
Occupying a unique position between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland is perfectly situated for businesses hoping to develop and expand internationally. It is a place where businesses can take advantage of the rapidly expanding tech startup ecosystems of both the UK and Ireland!
The programme has been created with support from Northern Ireland’s regional economic development agency Invest NI. Jeremy Fitch, Invest NI’s Executive Director of Business Solutions Group had this to say;
“Supporting ambitious entrepreneurs to develop innovative start-ups is a critical part of Northern Ireland’s economic strategy. The StartPlanet NI model will match some of the best startups from Northern Ireland with their international counterparts, and will help build a strong and vibrant startup community within the wider Knowledge Economy.
“Each successful team will gain access to this shared co-working facility, where they will receive intensive mentoring and support as well as access to an established influential global network. Together with the important seed funding and access to additional private sector investment, and the unique Founders’ Fund, we are greatly increasing their potential to succeed internationally.”
Wayne Murphy, Accelerator Manager, StartPlanet NI said: “StartPlanet NI is focused on helping entrepreneurs who have the potential to transform their startups into high-value businesses, and the combination of innovative workspace, funding, mentoring, business support and global reach ensures we are offering the best environment to allow them to do just that.
“We are already progressing well in terms of recruitment, and have applications from 16 different countries to date. We would encourage anyone who is interested, whether here in Northern Ireland or much further afield, to visit startplanetni.com to find out how they can join us on this exciting journey”.
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Published on: 8th September 2015
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