companies; superfast broadband will be rolled out by BT; and Vodafone will bring its Ventures investment fund to Tech City. Academic partners include Loughborough University, University College London and Imperial College London. “Start-ups will play an increasingly

valuable role in helping grow Britain’s economy and we’re excited to be involved in supporting that growth in London,” says Fred Perron, Vodafone UK’s head of consumer data services. “In April, we launched our Mobile Clicks competition, which offers€250k in start-up funding, to fi nd the next generation of mobile start- ups. British entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas to a Dragon’s Den-like audience of investment and technology experts. The best ideas from seven European Vodafone countries will then go head to head in a grand fi nale. Vodafone UK plans to use

the competition, in its third year, as a cornerstone in its Tech City plans. Although it’s designed to attract talent from across the UK, it will certainly help spot London- based entrepreneurs who can benefi t from our involvement in Tech City.” Similar sentiments have been

expressed by Google. “Google’s developer Innovation Hub at the heart of the East London technology cluster will be the fl agship location for our developer outreach activities in Britain,” a company spokesperson told springboard. “It will be home to our training

workshops and product demonstrations for start-ups and engineers who could benefi t from our knowledge of building large-scale online services. It will also act as an informal workspace for Google teams, enabling them to learn and benefi t from the other developers, companies,

researchers and academics in the area. We’re starting to build the concept this year by expanding our existing work within the start-up community.” Kevin Sneader, director of McKinsey

& Company, says: “We support the Tech City initiative because we’re confi dent it will play a signifi cant role in building a digital cluster in East London for the benefi t of the UK and the global digital economy. But, ultimately, the hub’s success will depend on the entrepreneurial talents of the founders and entrepreneurs who are already building it.”

GO EAST Such is the speed of growth in Shoreditch

– from only 15 high-tech and digital businesses there less than three years ago to more than 200 now – it has been dubbed ‘Silicon Roundabout’.

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