Glasgow
City Innovation District (GCID) is a hub for entrepreneurship,
innovation, and collaboration. It builds on Scotland's rich
tradition of scientific excellence and industrial
collaboration.
Located in the heart of Glasgow City Centre, the District is
home to many innovative companies and organisations which have
located here to nurture and accelerate growth, improve productivity
and access world-class research and technology from the University
of Strathclyde. Over 1,600 businesses call the District home,
ranging across industries like energy, health, food & drink,
manufacturing and a growing number of financial and fintech
companies.
New bank AlbaCo has
chosen to have its headquarters in George Square, within the
Innovation District. Alba aims to be a new Scottish based business
bank, with a mission to help fuel economic growth through direct
lending to SMEs in Scotland and the wider UK regions. The benefits
of the District to this business are huge, allowing them to network
with the growing number of businesses in the area and link up with
Strathclyde and the Technology and Innovation Centre which is
transforming the way academics, business, industry and the public
sector work in partnership.
The announcement that Bruntwood
SciTech has purchased the Met Tower, to create a digital tech
hub for start-ups and scale-ups, is another example of the area's
growing ecosystem and a great benefit to any business in the area.
FinTech and financial companies will benefit from having an
increase of new start ups and SMEs on their doorstop.
Also located within the District is Blackarrow Financial
Solutions which aims to simplify the financial journey, provide
valuable insights and guide customers to improve their
affordability scenarios via its innovative AI technology. The
company's ethos is to work with universities, tech hubs and Fintech
Scotland to help nurture and develop emerging talent and you can
see why the Innovation District is the perfect location to
collaborate with these bodies.
With its world-class skills and talent base, excellent transport
links and reputation as a desirable city to 'live, work, play,
innovate', Glasgow is the ideal place to create a thriving
community of companies, researchers and innovation support
organisations. These are the key principles of a successful
District and something we at GCID are excited to continue
developing with time.
The District aims to connect people of various industries to
improve Glasgow's innovation ecosystem as a whole and help to grow
the District as an amazing place to locate. Through collaboration
with District partners Scottish Enterprise, Entrepreneurial
Scotland, Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and the
University of Strathclyde, the District has created a thriving
network of ambitious, forward-thinking people, tackling societal
and global challenges and driving inclusive economic growth.
Through District events, such as the first Glasgow Tech Fest
held in Spring of this year, GCID has brought together over 400
individuals to learn more about Glasgow's Tech sector and event
panels covered investment, the ecosystem, founder inspiration and
market innovation. These events are vital to make connections
across sectors including Fintech and Business, for example FinTech
Scotland CEO Nicola Anderson featured on a panel to discuss
industry sector within innovation.
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