º£½ÇÖ±²¥

DigitalCity welcomes new entrepreneurs onto Fellowship scheme

A mobile web platform for bands, an interactive arts company and an audio production company are some of the latest digital businesses to be accepted onto a successful fellowship scheme.

Five new businesses, comprising 13 entrepreneurs, have been admitted onto the latest round of the DigitalCity Fellowship scheme based at º£½ÇÖ±²¥. The Fellows will spend the next few months receiving mentoring and advice from leading figures in their respective industries as they develop their products and ideas.

In addition, each of them will receive up to £4,000 to cover their living costs as well as having access to the cutting-edge facilities at º£½ÇÖ±²¥.

The DigitalCity Fellowship programme has already proved incredibly successful at launching new start-ups and is responsible for more than 260 new companies in the Tees Valley.

It has helped to create a tech economy worth more than £174 million and the only digital hotspot north of Birmingham, as ranked by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.

The new fellows are: • Oceloid, formed by º£½ÇÖ±²¥ graduates Thomas Philips, Melissa Fionda, Jorden Hildrew and Conor Doyle • Gigabout , formed by º£½ÇÖ±²¥ graduates Fraser Oxlee, Billy Floyd and Joshua Allan • Sound Particle Labs, formed by Christopher Winter, Damon Jenkin and Luke Whinfield who studied º£½ÇÖ±²¥ degrees at Middlesbrough College • A web design and app development company formed by Newcastle College graduate Stewart Platt and University of Central Lancashire graduate John-Michael Hedley • Animated Finance, formed by University of Wolverhampton graduate Nick Lewis

David Jeffries, the Head of DigitalCity, said: “These are some very interesting new businesses and we are delighted to welcome them onto our Fellowship programme.

'Our aim is to reduce a lot of the risk associated with early-stage start-ups to enable these entrepreneurs to make their businesses a success.

'At the same time we hope that, like many of our previous Fellows, they will be able to contribute to a collaborative digital economy here in the Tees Valley.' This project is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

The ERDF Competitiveness Programme 2007-2013 is bringing over £300m into the North East to support innovation, enterprise and business support across the region.

The deadline for the next round of Fellowships is 1 December.

---