New data from Liverpool City Region’s Tech Climbers reveals that 75 per cent of businesses are looking for funding to grow this year, with seed or Series A capital the preferred route.
Although 76 per cent of the 58 entrants to Tech Climbers this year have had previous success rasing funds, many cited access to finance as the biggest challenge for the businesses, closely followed by slow adoption of technology.
Last year Liverpool ranked 12th in terms of tech vacancies by city excluding London in the Tech Nation People and Skills Report, and the latest Tech Climbers data also showcases an influx of jobs in the industry, with all of the respondents looking to hire over the next 12 months, creating an estimated 297 new jobs – a 13 per cent increase from last year.
25 companies were selected to take a place on this year’s Tech Climbers list with 10 making the ‘ones to watch list,’ judged on investment, impact and innovation. Entrants submit a snapshot of their data which is also used to chart growth and insight into the businesses and their challenges. Tech Climbers also runs in Leeds and will launch in another northern region soon.
Anna Heyes, CEO at Active Profile and founder of Tech Climbers, said: “It’s no surprise that the IP-rich tech businesses we engage with though Tech Climbers are naturally looking for funding at various stages of their journey. What is interesting to see is that the numbers are consistent year-on-year, with healthy figures linked to the ambition to create jobs in the region too.”
“It’s great to see the region responding as new accelerator and various specialist funds come on stream. There’s certainly an emerging market of tech and impressive founders to invest in, so we look forward to seeing more deals in this space over the next 12 months”
Helen Cross, digital & creative sector lead at Growth Platform- Liverpool City Region Growth Company added: “Liverpool City Region is well placed to reap rich rewards because of its ever-expanding tech community and the spirit of entrepreneurship and ambition which this year’s Tech Climbers have in abundance.”
“Initiatives such as Tech Climbers are important to not only to celebrate the companies doing great work in the region but also for investors and partners to identify key businesses ripe for investment who can benefit from support such as the AI fund, Baltic Ventures, and later this year the Seed Fund. Beyond investment, wrap around support from the likes of Growth Platform’s High Growth Programme and Peer Networks enables businesses to work together and build their networks.”
