In an interview with UKTN, David Hamilton, the head of implementation at Barclays Eagle Labs, revealed that the bank plans to dedicate a significant portion of the £12 million Digital Growth Grant to support the UK’s tech sector.
Earlier this year, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) made a controversial decision to award the grant to Barclays, leaving Tech Nation, which had heavily depended on this funding for its sustainability, facing a serious financial shortfall.
Hamilton noted that the decision by the DCMS was met with mixed reactions within the industry, mentioning, “I’ve got the impression that some people think Eagle Labs are the bogeymen.” He added that a large portion of the grant would be allocated to educational programs aimed at entrepreneurs, aiming to sustain the growth initiatives previously provided by Tech Nation. He confirmed that all funds from the government grant will be dispersed to delivery partners for these programs, emphasizing that any activities undertaken by Barclays will be funded separately.
In January, Tech Nation announced it would cease operations, initiating a redundancy program and selling off its brand and assets. During this period, CEO Gerard Grech stated, “We have exhaustively explored whether Tech Nation could continue without core government grant funding, but have concluded after extensive consultation that this is not an option. We are a non-profit, with an obligation to act in the best interest of the public and the scaleup community we serve. We cannot continue to deliver for scaleups impactfully and impartially without core public funding underpinning everything we do, and with commercial funding alone.”