NatWest announces next stage of accelerator expansion following 10th anniversary of Birmingham hub

As NatWest celebrates the tenth anniversary of its Accelerator and its Birmingham hub, the bank has announced its ambition to partner with up to 10 UK universities to open new business accelerators in the next three years.

Marking the tenth anniversary of the NatWest Accelerator, NatWest is announcing its ambition to significantly expand its support to UK businesses by offering 10,000 entrepreneurs the chance to join its Accelerator community in 2025, while setting out a long-term strategy to support the UK’s growth goals through new university partnerships.

As the UK’s leading business bank, NatWest’s Accelerator is recognised as a leading entrepreneurial network for businesses across the UK.

These hubs have supported 9,737 businesses since 2015, raising over £684 million in investment and creating over 12,000 jobs.

Since the programme was founded in Birmingham in 2015, the bank has grown its accelerator hubs to 12 sites across the UK.

The Birmingham hub, which is based at NatWest’s offices in St Phillips Place, has supported 755 businesses, raising £28million investment and has created 480 jobs.

In the next stage of its expansion, NatWest will be partnering with up to 10 UK universities to open new business accelerators in the next three years.

This investment in the bank’s accelerator programme will support thousands more entrepreneurs from across the UK to run and grow their businesses.

This is not the first time NatWest has partnered with a UK university to open an accelerator hub – the bank has run an accelerator programme at the University of Warwick since 2021.

This investment by NatWest in the UK’s university ecosystem will support entrepreneurs to commercialise their ideas, bringing the bank’s expertise in funding, selling and leading to bear upon their journeys to growth.

The bank wants to target businesses in the ‘innovation economy’ in particular, in sectors such as Technology, Healthcare Tech, Life Sciences and Fintech, as these sectors offer considerable potential to the growth of the UK economy.

To celebrate 10 years of its Accelerator programme, NatWest is also launching a new £1 million pitching competition to reward big ideas and accelerate UK small business growth.

With a series of competitions running throughout 2025 and beyond, and with each final offering an individual prize pot of £100,000, entrepreneurs are invited to pitch their business concept and plans for growth.

Judges will select five finalists to attend the first live final in Manchester in July 2025.

Robert Begbie (pictured), CEO of NatWest’s Commercial & Institutional franchise, said: ““The next stage of the Accelerator’s expansion will involve partnering with more UK universities, combining our strengths to help entrepreneurs commercialise their ideas and kickstart economic growth.   

“As we celebrate the milestone of the Accelerator’s tenth anniversary, we are also excited to launch NatWest Pitch today, a new £1 million pitching competition offering small businesses the opportunity to win a share of the funding to fuel their growth.”

NatWest accelerator community manager Harinder Kunor said: “Our Birmingham Accelerator has played a vital role in supporting new and emerging businesses from across the West Midlands for 10 years.

“And we look forward to continuing to connect with and help even more businesses as they scale and grow.”

Pictured: From left - PJ Ellis, radio broadcaster, accelerator community manager at NatWest Harinder Kunor, CEO and founder of Innovating Minds CIC Dr Asha Patel, founder of Altruist Enterprises Katie Buckingham, managing director of Experienced Energy Solutions Dominic O’Brien, and Pam Sheemar, regional accelerator director, at NatWest