WIREDGOV

Start-ups in and around Bristol and Bath could be in line to receive specialist support from Ordnance Survey (OS) and HM Land Registry (HMLR), as Engine Shed announce partnership with OS’s start-up support initiative, Geovation.

Geovation, which focuses on advancing GeoTech and PropTech businesses, is offering start-ups that are members of Engine Shed.

 

Its network partners a host of benefits, including access to OS and HMLR data, expert business advice and mentorship, and a weekly ‘tech surgery’ drop-in session given by Geovation’s in-house software developer team. Members can also take advantage of free London desk space when they need it, and discounted London meeting room hire.

Nick Sturge, Engine Shed Director, yesterday said: “Our region is a growing economy that is inclusive, sustainable, should benefit everyone who lives here, and is recognised internationally as innovative and dynamic. We share a common ethos with Geovation of Collaboration, Openness, Facilitation, Fearlessness, and Excellence, and both organisations have a track record of innovating, seeding activity, and connecting people to drive inclusive economic activity across sectors. This new partnership is a fantastic opportunity for our local GeoTech and PropTech businesses to receive the support and backing of two major government agencies.”

Alex Wrottesley, Head of Geovation, said: “In an increasingly data driven world, the location and property industries are currently experiencing an evolution. Each are reacting and responding to new and emerging technologies, and the different demands and opportunities these bring. Start-ups have the potential to play a driving role in this evolution, but without nurturing, access to experience, expertise, and quality data, it is much harder for them to make an impact. This is what makes our collaboration with Engine Shed so exciting. Together we want to hear from anyone who has an idea that has potential in the GeoTech or PropTech world, and we want to help them break through”.

Backed by Ordnance Survey (OS) and HM Land Registry, the Geovation Accelerator Programme has produced a steady pipeline of success since its introduction in 2015. Eighty-four start-ups have gone through the Programme, creating more than 200 jobs and raising £23.3 million in investment funding.

Names to pass through the hub’s doors include property licensing data company Get Rentr, sexual harassment mapping app creators Safe In the City, and pay-as-you-fly commercial drone insurers Flock (which has gone on to raise nearly £3 million in investment funding). Another to have worked with Geovation is City to Sea and 2018’s Bristol Woman of the Year, Natalie Fee, who received support from Geovation in the creation of the Refill app, which is successfully changing consumer behaviour nationally by sharing free tap water refill points by connecting app users with Refill stations where they can fill up with free tap water, reducing the need for single use plastic bottles.

Natalie said: “We were already working hard in Bristol when we successfully applied to Geovation, and with their support and contacts we were able to take Refill to another level.”

Contact us

For more information:

Contact: Keegan Wilson, Senior Press Officer

Email: keegan.wilson@os.uk

Phone: (+44) 023­80 055332