A £1.5 million venture aiming to accelerate digital tech business growth and enhance entrepreneurship in north-east Scotland has opened in Aberdeen.
The ONE Tech Hub, located in the former Robert Gordon University (RGU) administration building on Schoolhill, represents the single largest investment to date by Opportunity North East (ONE).
The private sector economic development body, chaired by oil industry tycoon Sir Ian Wood, partnered with RGU and ONE CodeBase to deliver the 20,000 square foot hub, which will provide a base for the digital tech and entrepreneurship community in the region.
ONE CodeBase is a partnership between digital tech incubator CodeBase and ONE’s Digital & Entrepreneurship (D&E) board, which marked the opening by hosting its first board meeting at the hub this week.
In addition to co-working and office spaces, meeting rooms, social areas and up to 30 hotdesks, the hub will offer event spaces to hire and host meet-ups, networking events, workshops and education and accelerator programmes.
The RGU Start-Up Accelerator, which provides training, mentorship and investment to students, staff and recent alumni from RGU and North East Scotland College to develop businesses, will also be housed at the facility.
RGU will mark the opening by launching its newly established Creative Accelerator in the hub this summer. The initiative aims to develop and retain creative talent and start-ups in the North-east.
Wood, chair of ONE and ONE’s D&E sector board, said: “ONE Tech Hub will act as the focal point to accelerate the creation of digital businesses in north-east Scotland, support our key industries embrace digital solutions to achieve growth, and enhance our entrepreneurial environment to support company creation and scale-up.“This is crucial to achieving our vision of north-east Scotland becoming a global hub for people and businesses that want to engage with the industrial digital economy.”
In advance of officially launching the hub, ONE CodeBase has hosted a series of meet-ups to introduce the local digital tech community to the CodeBase incubation model and its Edinburgh-based tenants. Speakers included Danae Shell of care comparison website CareSourcer, and John Peebles of training management platform Administrate.
Stephen Coleman, chief executive and co-founder of CodeBase, said: “ONE CodeBase sits at the heart of the digital community created by the hub. Together, we will provide a range of expert support for businesses in the region, from startups looking to scale, to incumbents looking to transform.”
Source: https://www.scotsman.com/business/1-5m-one-tech-hub-opens-its-doors-in-aberdeen-1-4943539