The UK Space Agency Accelerator is live!
This week, we, along with Exotopic, announced the exciting news that applications for the UK Space Agency Accelerator programme were officially open. The world-class programme offers three levels of intensive business growth support to choose from, each designed to boost the success of entrepreneurs within, or looking to grow into, the UK’s thriving and vibrant space sector, which currently employs 47,000 people.
Managed and delivered by Entrepreneurial Spark and Exotopic following a competitive tendering process, the UK Space Agency is investing just under £1.5 million in its two-year rolling business support programme. The UK Space Agency Accelerator is expected to see 180 entrepreneurs’ ideas given a business boost with specialist coaching, network opportunities and business support to get their interstellar ideas investment ready.
Like-minded entrepreneurs will also be encouraged to pitch ideas, share best practices, and celebrate successes in person at Trajectory events taking place across the country.
The three programmes available as part of the accelerator are:
Explore
Explore is the perfect programme for those making their first steps into the commercial space industry and is aimed at those with some space knowledge or with an idea from another industry that has potential in space. Apply now.
Leo
Applicants to the Leo programme will have Proof of Concept in place and will be at the development stage. Space knowledge will be slightly more developed, and applicants might already be working in the space sector. Coming soon!
Geo
Geo is designed for entrepreneurs with some market traction and now looking to grow their business at pace. Coming soon!
What makes the accelerator really exciting is that it isn’t limited to traditional space businesses and is uniquely designed to encourage anyone working in a related industry such as engineering, manufacturing, or farming and has a service or product that could flourish in the space sector, to apply.
Throughout the programme, we will support entrepreneurs to build their business knowledge and offer mentorship to enable them to take their product to market, whilst building a valuable network to share ideas.
Entrepreneur Zaria Serfontein, co-founder of Frontier Space Technologies, was a part of our 2021 pilot programme and has already seen success in space. Zaria and her team joined the accelerator pilot to gain business know-how and devise a roadmap to develop their business driving innovative biomedical research in space.
The UK Space Agency Accelerator will provide new opportunities for underrepresented groups to explore and contribute to the UK space sector too, and offers multiple routes for ambitious entrepreneurs making them ready to invest, scale up and find new market opportunities.
To find out more about the UK Space Agency Accelerator and to apply, visit www.ukspaceaccelerator.co.uk