The West of England's first home-grown place-based investor has deployed £1m in seed funding early-stage Bristol businesses trying to tackle inequality.
The venture fund is part of the wider £10m City Funds’ pot, which is designed to support local organisations solving some of the city’s biggest problems - such as housing shortages, energy efficiency and community wellbeing.
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A total of £1m from the fund - a collaboration between BBRC, Quartet Community Foundation and Bristol City Council - is set to be allocated for earlier-stage ‘high risk’ ventures, with the rest earmarked for more established businesses looking for growth lending.
Battery energy storage system manufacturer Albion Technologies, tech firms Yuup and AutonoMe and Service Robotics, as well as Moroccan food business Yumello have all secured investment through the fund.
Albion Technologies used £400,000 to establish a manufacturing facility in Bristol that will create 90 green jobs over five years.
Yuup, which has developed a platform to support hundreds of small creative business owners offering experiences, secured a £200,000 investment and has gone on to grow annual sales to £120,000, with 400 host companies coming from Bristol’s under-represented communities.
The AutonoMe app helps more than 400 vulnerable care leavers, people with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness through personalised videos and prompts to improve independent skills for daily life. AutonoMe secured an investment of £150,000 in 2022 to grow its market workplace support.
Boosted by a £250,000 investment from City Funds, HealthTech firm Service Robotics uses specialised remote technology to coordinate health services for older people in the South West.
Peanut and almond butter brand Yumello has expanded its Bristol headquarters, grown national sales, supplied food banks and created new jobs with its £250,000 funding.
Jari Moate, investment director at BBRC, said: “City Funds is one of the first of its kind in the Ƶ that brings together investment, grant funding and local authority support in a coordinated, place-based approach to tackle key local issues and inequalities.
“The venture ecosystem in Bristol is building the future of the city now, and we want impact to be a central part of that. That’s why we have chosen to deploy £1m into early-stage ventures who are developing and leading solutions to solve some of the biggest social and environmental problems faced in Bristol. We will continue to work with them to keep Bristol-based impact front and centre as they grow.”
Nick Sturge, chair of techSPARK, which works with tech and digital businesses across the city from startups to global corporations, said: “Enabling and supporting the development of technology products and businesses that have a positive impact on society is critical and funding of these businesses has historically been difficult.
“As a not-for-profit, techSPARK understands some of this pain and is keen to support mission-led and impactful businesses as best we can. We’re delighted that BBRC has been so active in this space and we’ll do whatever we can to support this going forward.”
