Capital Accelerate & Scale Tech Superstars (CASTS) is a project that was part-funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and run by Capital Enterprise to generate more innovative technology-focused, fast-growth companies by expanding the provision of London’s high-quality accelerator programmes.
Capital Enterprise managed the bid process, and lead the project management and delivery of the project. The total budget was £7,357,904 which kicked off in April 2016 and ran until June 2019. It was delivered by Capital Enterprise, in partnership with University College London (UCL), City University, and Newable; it was additionally supported by 16 London based accelerators. CASTS was part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, with match funding from the delivery partners and accelerators.
CASTS not only helped maintain the London accelerator ecosystem’s level of excellence but also built upon it to ensure London and the UK continued to benefit from the jobs and wealth generated.
CASTS has been a highly impactful and cost-efficient project that has surpassed all of its project objectives and targets for job creation, private investment and the number of SMEs supported.
CASTS demonstrated excellent value for money with every £1 spent by the public sector, the CASTS project generated £4.90 for the London economy.
We would like to thank and congratulate our delivery partners, accelerator partners as well as the SMEs who participated in the programme. The successes, best practice and lessons learned will continue to provide value as we use the learnings from CASTS to develop new innovative projects to strengthen the startup ecosystem.
Project Impact
SME supported: 796
Investment raised: £143.7m
Jobs created: 957
New Enterprises Supported: 395 (businesses which are less than 12 months old)
