Plans for a new West Midlands Accelerator Cluster were announced today at the Leadership Breakfast that opened Birmingham Tech Week.
The initiative will support entrepreneurs and growing businesses in clean energy, advanced manufacturing, future mobility and digital innovation.
Unveiled by Andy Hague (pictured), CEO of TechWM, the initiative will connect business growth programs across multiple locations, anchored by a new NatWest Accelerator site at the University of Wolverhampton. It is intended to create the first coordinated cluster of its kind in the region.
Pam Sheemar, Regional Accelerator Director at NatWest, said: “The West Midlands has no shortage of entrepreneurial talent in tech. The opportunity is helping more founders turn great ideas into successful, scaling businesses.
“The West Midlands Accelerator Cluster, which includes Birmingham, Tyseley Energy Park, the University of Wolverhampton and the University of Warwick, connects local entrepreneurs with NatWest’s wider ecosystem of founders, investors, industry experts and specialist banking support. By creating accelerator pathways across this growing cluster, we can help more businesses access the networks, expertise and finance they need to grow with confidence.”
Spanning the West Midlands Combined Authority area, the cluster aims to help entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized businesses access networks and support beyond their location or sector. It will draw on the region’s industrial strengths, university expertise and technology sector to help businesses grow.
According to the West Midlands Tech Review 2026 published earlier this year, the region’s digital economy is valued at £15.8 billion, with tech scale-ups generating more than £10.3 billion in annual turnover. The cluster aims to help more businesses turn innovation into commercial growth, higher productivity and new jobs.
“There is no longer such a thing as a non-tech business,” said Hague. “AI is changing how companies operate across the West Midlands, and the Accelerator Cluster is about giving more entrepreneurs a clear route to turn that change into growth.
“Birmingham Tech Week is a community event. It brings together people who might not cross paths during the other 51 weeks of the year. This week is an opportunity for founders to find support, businesses to explore new technology and people across the region to make connections that help them take their next step.”
The announcement took place at Birmingham Rep in Centenary Square, attended by founders, technologists, policymakers and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker.
Parker said: “Technology is part of almost everything we do, and it’s thanks to our long history of backing innovators that many of the new ideas shaping people’s lives are being developed here in the West Midlands.
“We’ve got businesses adapting gaming tech to improve healthcare, bringing AI into factories, developing longer-lasting electric vehicle batteries and using 5G to help people live independently for longer.
“Birmingham Tech Week brings these brilliant minds together to celebrate their work and, crucially, explore how we can turn their ideas into successful businesses that create jobs and growth here in our region.”
Running from 19th – 23rd October under the theme ‘Fast Forward’, Birmingham Tech Week spans more than 35 events across the city and is expected to welcome thousands of delegates from the UK and overseas. Highlights include the AI Symposium, Future Leaders, Frontiers Day, ScaleUp Summit and the Engineering & Developer Conference.
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