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Our extended partnership with the Centre For Entrepreneurs means more support and opportunities for early-stage founders in the UK.
We are delighted to announce the expansion of our partnership with the Centre for Entrepreneurs (CFE) to support early-stage founders and champion entrepreneurship across the UK.
As part of our extended partnership, Founders Forum Group will make a significant annual donation to the not for profit organisation, host the charity’s offices at our headquarters on London’s Strand, and invest in furthering CFE’s research and content.
The partnership will also enable the return of CFE’s annual lecture for the first time post-pandemic and generate additional research and content for entrepreneurs.
This next phase of our collaboration is a natural extension of Founders Forum’s support of CFE’s NEF+ entrepreneurial leadership programme, which equips ambitious, early-stage founders from all backgrounds with a unique learning environment along with coaching from leading entrepreneur-practitioners. Participants are equipped with the skills and mindset they need to form, and then lead, exciting new businesses.
In addition to financial support, CFE will benefit from access to our extensive network of investors, corporate partners, and scaled founders.
”We want to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and expanding our partnership with the Centre for Entrepreneurs allows us to do just that,” says Carolyn Dawson, Founders Forum Group CEO, who joins CFE’s Board of Trustees as part of the extended partnership.
“From its comprehensive directory of accelerators and incubators, to its pilot programme for refugee founders, CFE’s work makes entrepreneurship more accessible to more communities and more diversity means a stronger startup ecosystem and a stronger economy overall.”
CFE also engages and informs policymakers and the public on how they can support entrepreneurship in the UK. CFE CEO, Timothy Barnes, says the partnership with Founders Forum Group will see our organisations combine expertise and operational strengths on a range of initiatives throughout 2023 and beyond, including an annual state of entrepreneurship report and insights on the UK’s productivity deficit.
This new research will complement CFE’s recently published accelerator survey – the most comprehensive study of UK business incubator and accelerator programmes.
“Through Founders Forum Group’s partnership, we’re planning to produce a range of helpful content for entrepreneurs and those who support them,” Tim says.
Olive Pawle is Chair of CFE’s Board of Trustees and co-founded the organisation. He says:
“Ten years on from launching our first NEF+ entrepreneurial leaders programme and two years on from our first partnership with Founders Forum, I’m delighted to deepen our collaboration and help a diverse pipeline of entrepreneurs from the first spark of an idea, through to launch, acceleration and growth.”
Brent Hoberman, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Founders Forum Group, started Founders Forum after his own experiences as a serial founder showed him the need for a supportive entrepreneurial network.
“I’ve admired the work of NEF+ and CFE as an early advisor to both organisations. It’s wonderful to be able to amplify their work and the next stage of their journey with the tremendous complementarity of Founders Forum Group,” he says.
“The outlook for entrepreneurs today is incredibly exciting but not without its challenges. Working more closely with the Centre for Entrepreneurs allows us to bring more opportunities to new entrepreneurs and find more ways to help successful entrepreneurs give back.
“We’re excited to grow our philanthropic remit as we seek to champion entrepreneurs at every stage of their journeys.”
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Main image: Early-stage founders are coached by entrepreneurial experts in CFE’s NEF+ programme in partnership with Founders Forum Group. ©CFE
