ACCELERATION Through Innovation (ATI) officially opened the doors to the Bude Pop-up Innovation Centre recently, held within the Bude-Stratton Town Council building.

ATI is a business support programme led by the University of Plymouth and funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). They marked the occasion by hosting a breakfast launch event at The Falcon Hotel and warmly welcomed 30 businesses and partner organisations — all of which had a desire to find out how they could make use of the flexible workspace and access the business innovation support available through the programme.

Following a successful breakfast launch, many of the attendees popped by the Pop-up Innovation Centre to view the new hot desk facilities and separate meeting room space, which could also be used by businesses for small workshop style events.

Avril Sainsbury, marketing director for the Cleaner Seas Group and one of the local businesses that attended on the day, spoke of her own experience of working with the ATI programme: “Through the Growth Hub and ATI, Cleaner Seas Group were introduced to Marine-i which has been a game-changer for us, unlocking access to the world class research support available through the University of Plymouth. This is helping us bring our product to market far more quickly than would otherwise have been possible.”

Now at the end of the first week, Paul Rogers, ATI’s Pop-up Innovation Centre co-ordinator, reports that the Bude pop-up is off to a flying start after a ‘well attended launch, a flurry of client bookings, various pop-in activities and a healthy appetite for partner organisations to engage and meet with businesses within the new workspace’.

One such partner is the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF), delivered by British Business Bank, who will host a monthly ‘Finance Clinic’ within the Bude Pop-up Innovation Centre meeting room.

Brent Treloar, business development manager for the FSE Group, fund managers of CIOSIF, said: “The Bude pop-up provides a meeting space which allows support programmes, like CIOSIF, to connect with businesses in rural areas that we haven’t previously had access to.

“I shall be running regular finance clinics here and look forward to helping local businesses acquire investment and the necessary funds to achieve their desired growth aspirations.”

ATI are also collaborating with the Community Led Local Development, Bude Coastal Communities Trust and Cornwall Marine Network, demonstrating a joined up approach to supporting businesses in Bude by facilitating meetings and workshops within the pop-up, as well as coordinating networking activities for the local business community to connect.

Notable ATI events to be held in Bude over the next three months include their ‘Managing an Innovation Project Workshop’ and ‘Intellectual Property Workshop’, as well as their breakfast and networking club called the ‘Cornwall Innovation Club’. All these events are fully funded by the ERDF and are at no cost for small to medium sized enterprises based in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

For more information about the ATI programme, the Bude Pop-up Innovation Centre or to register for any of their upcoming events visit www.aticornwallinnovation.co.uk