GC Angels, the venture capital investment arm of The Growth Company, has announced the first cohort for its new Venture Forward accelerator programme, which is designed to help underrepresented founders in the North of England prepare for their first institutional investment round.

The programme, funded by Innovate UK, will run over the next year and aims to provide early-stage founders with the knowledge, tools, and connections needed to secure growth capital.

The inaugural cohort includes 30 diverse businesses from across the region, operating in sectors such as health, financial services, and agriculture. The programme is notable for its commitment to diversity:

60% of the businesses are female-founded.

73% are founded by individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds.

33% have a disabled or neurodivergent founder.

These figures are significantly higher than the industry average, reflecting the programme's focus on widening access to investment.

The cohort also highlights the spread of innovation across the North, with Manchester-based businesses making up the largest proportion at 47%. This is followed by Liverpool (13%), Preston (10%), and Sheffield (10%).

The eight-week programme, beginning in October 2025, will cover all stages of the fundraising journey through workshops, mentoring, and networking opportunities with investors and industry leaders. After the programme, GC Angels will offer up to £500,000 in equity investment to standout founders. A second cohort is planned for February 2026, with the two rounds supporting a total of 60 companies from the North of England.

Marc Shirman, GC Head of Equity Investment, said: "We’re very excited to be launching the first phase of Venture Forward this October. The response we received has been phenomenal – receiving over 150 applications from founders across the North. Narrowing this down to just 30 was difficult but means that we’ve assembled an incredibly strong group.

“This first cohort highlights the depth of talent among underrepresented founders in the region, and the need for more early-stage investment opportunities. Through Venture Forward, we’re sharing our knowledge and experience as early-stage investors with ambitious founders and giving them unique insights into how investors make decisions. Our ultimate goal is to support more diverse founders with the backing they need to grow. I look forward to getting to know these businesses further over the next eight weeks.”

Cohort 1:
Ability Digital, Claire Buckle | KOKU Health, Prof Emma Stanmore | Uoto, Praveen Kaur | AdTecher, Charles Wheeler | Flocast, Hassan Zaman | Lexlytic, Chioma Wilson-Dyke | Ndewo, Joshua Ojo | Mission C, Qes Hussain | NanoBiotechnology Hub, Alfredo Gravagnuolo | Applatch, Samson Opaleye | SafePlant, Zahra Dashtbozorgi | Opulence Pictures, Veronika Polovko | Girostar, Hetesh Pal | AJ Lakes, Alison Magee-Barker | EcoGreen Living, Julie Cook | Pet Trust UK, Felix Robinson | Vea Journal, Zahra Bhatti | Erranza AI, Ahmad Pervaiz Butt | StoryVerse Studios AI, Milly Ali | Akari Health, Dr Arslan Anwar | GoGetMeIt, Aklaq Choudhury | Breezemove, Phil Melia | PurFetch, Yao Fan | SyncIt Health, Matilde Lerias | PR Mastery, Carla Speight | Houseshare AI, Jaz Singh | PWR Women, Lizzie Frija | Vesta Capsules, Farah Frikha | CliniLink, Mehmoona Usman & Theresa Ho | Avika, Shivika Pratap