Outgoing Tech Nation chief executive says Founders Forum Group is the ’ideal custodian’
Tech Nation has confirmed the sale of its brand to the Founders Forum Group after losing government funding.
The technology trade organisation invited expressions of interest from organisations over acquiring the business in January 2023, with the government’s digital growth grant being withdrawn and awarded to Barclays.
In a statement published in March 2023, Tech Nation confirmed it had entered into discussions with Founders Forum.
And yesterday (24 April 2023), Tech Nation confirmed it had been formally acquired by the group.
A statement confirming the sale said the transfer will see Founders Forum “continue to execute against Tech Nation’s mission to empower tech entrepreneurs, scale innovative startups and provide a united platform for UK tech founders”.
Tech Nation’s outgoing founding chief executive Gerard Grech and board director Sarah Wood will help steer the transition.
“Founders Forum is the ideal custodian to lead Tech Nation into its next chapter,” Grech said.
“It’s been a privilege to have worked with so many fantastic people during Tech Nation’s journey to date and I want to thank the Tech Nation team for all their hard work in making it happen with the ecosystem.”
‘Delighted’
Founders Forum was launched in 2005 and aims to support entrepreneurs.
Read: Tech Nation set to close its doors after a decade as funding pulled
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The group will relaunch a number of Tech Nation programmes and reports on the UK tech sector as part of its existing portfolio of events and services tailored to entrepreneurs.
Carolyn Dawson OBE, Founders Forum chief executive, said: “We’re delighted to be carrying the Tech Nation brand forward and building on the remarkable decade of growth, which has resulted in the UK now being third in the world for tech investment.
“Programmes like Future Fifty, Net Zero and Rising Stars align succinctly with many of our existing initiatives at Founders Forum, as well as our overarching mission to bolster entrepreneurial innovation and support founders at every stage.”
Meanwhile, under the Founders Forum umbrella, Tech Nation will continue to process the Global Talent Visa for the Home Office and applicants can continue to apply as normal, with applications in process unaffected.
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