InnovationRCA awarded ‘Accelerator of the Year’

The Award, announced at the UKBAA Angel Investment Awards ceremony on 2 July, recognises the accelerator that has demonstrated the most dynamic programme of support for their cohort of start up and early stage entrepreneurs during the past year.

InnovationRCA is the Royal College of Art’s centre for enterprise and entrepreneurship, assisting students and graduates transform compelling ideas into successful businesses. Since it launched its start-up programme in 2009, InnovationRCA has helped 82 graduates launch more than 56 start-ups. These start-ups have created more than 650 UK jobs and turned over more than £29 million in the last financial year.

Of the award, Director of InnovationRCA, Nadia Danhash, said: 

‘This is an incredibly exciting achievement for InnovationRCA. The beauty of our programme is that it’s a long-term one where we accompany and support our entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey, we have experts to help them along the way plus a terrific investor network. To be recognised among our peers as the Accelerator of the Year is a real testament to the staff, founders and industry mentors that make up the DNA of InnovationRCA.’ 

Vice-Chancellor of the Royal College of Art, Dr Paul Thompson, said: 

‘Huge congratulations to our startup founders and mentors at InnovationRCA. Our incubator takes ideas and turns them into successful businesses that go on to change the world. Being recognised by this prestigious award demonstrates the strength of InnovationRCA, its people and the businesses it creates.’

The UKBBA Judges said:

'Innovation RCA is an exciting and successful example of leadership in the creative industries building successful University accelerators, enabling start-ups to build high growth potential businesses with design –focused applications across a wide range of sectors. The programme has supported and invested in more than 50 startups and created more than 650 UK jobs, as well as building its own very active dedicated industry focused Angel community to bring much needed investment to these businesses.'

InnovationRCA was shortlisted against: Barclays Accelerator Powered by Techstars, Bethnal Green Ventures, Geovation, Hangar 51, HS Ventures, Machine Intelligence Garage, Seraphim Space Camp, SETsquared Bristol and TDAP by Advanced Propulsion Centre.

The UK Angel Investment Awards recognise the fastest growing brands and acknowledges the founders, angels, crowdfunders and early-stage venture capital investors behind them.