UK Innovation Zones

People

UKIZ is people,

before it is places.

The initiative only works if the people who already do the work choose to be in the room.

Who belongs

  • Founders & entrepreneurs

    Building something in one of the eleven missions — early or scaling.

  • Researchers & universities

    Holding capability that hasn't yet found its commercial route.

  • Industry & corporates

    With real problems worth solving and the ability to be a first customer.

  • Investors

    Angel, venture, growth, family office and institutional.

  • Operators

    People who have built, fixed and scaled real businesses.

  • Institutions & local government

    Councils, combined authorities, agencies and universities anchoring a place.

  • International partners

    Businesses and investors in Europe, the Gulf, Asia and North America.

Roles

Who should be in the room?

Founders
Build.
Researchers
Discover.
Industry
Scale.
Investors
Fund.
Universities
Create knowledge and talent.
Government
Enable.
Experienced operators
Help people navigate problems others have encountered before.
International partners
Connect UK capability with global opportunity.

Innovation is a team sport.

Founder & Convenor

Mark Eve in conversation with founders

Mark Eve · Founder & Convenor

Convening the people who can make it happen.

Mark has spent 30+ years building, scaling and turning around consumer and retail businesses internationally — across the UK, Europe, the Gulf and Asia.

UKIZ came out of a pattern he kept meeting: capability in one room, capital in another, and the customer nowhere near either. The problem is rarely the idea. It is the distance between the people who could make it work.

He convenes UKIZ personally, independently and without public funding.

More about Mark →

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