£5 million raised and 1,000 businesses backed as Innovation Labs marks standout year for Suffolk’s tech sector

Startups supported by Innovation Labs Group and the Future Tech Programme have secured £5 million in funding, as the Stowmarket-based initiative cements its position as one of the most successful business and innovation support programme in Suffolk.

Across all Innovation Labs activity to date, including the Future Tech Programme, members have collectively raised £5 million in investment and secured £4 million in commercial contracts introduced through the Innovation Labs network. More than 1,000 businesses have been supported, 500 of them pro bono, and over 100 digital innovations have been brought to life.

Innovation Labs has also generated significant profile for the early-stage businesses that would otherwise struggle to be heard, securing more than 100 million impressions of PR coverage.

Innovation Labs is launching a new business innovation support programme with free or discounted membership to select applicants. For more information contact info@innovationlabsgroup.com

The group has also expressed their gratitude to Suffolk County Council, Connected Innovation and Barclays Eagle Labs for their support of the Future Tech Programme.

Highlights at a glance
• £5 million in funding secured by Innovation Labs members
• 1,000 businesses supported (combined across all Innovation Labs activity, including the Future Tech Programme).
• 500 businesses supported pro bono
• 100 million PR impressions secured for early-stage businesses
• £4 million in commercial contracts introduced and secured
• 100+ digital innovations supported and realised

Peter Basford, co-founder of Innovation Labs Group, said: “We set out to prove that world-class innovation doesn’t only happen in London or Cambridge — it can happen here in Stowmarket. Helping our members raise £5 million and supporting more than 1,000 businesses, half of them pro bono, shows what a genuine community of innovators can achieve. We could not be prouder of our members, and we’re only getting
started.”

Hermione Way, co-founder of Innovation Labs Group, added: “We’ve worked incredibly hard to put Stowmarket on the map as a focal point for innovation and entrepreneurship. From the coworking space to the investment-readiness support and the commercial introductions, everything we do is about giving founders here the same opportunities they’d find anywhere in the world. Stowmarket is gaining a reputation as the place where unicorns are born!”

Why it works
Innovation Labs Group believes this is the most successful business and innovation support programme in Suffolk. It attributes that success to four things:

• A network of active innovators. Support comes from practising technologists, entrepreneurs and innovators with real depth of experience and knowledge.
• A comprehensive investment-readiness programme that prepares founders to raise capital with confidence.
• Commercial deal introductions that turn early promise into revenue traction.
• Deep roots in the region’s tech ecosystem, connecting members to the people and opportunities that matter.

Founders on the programme point to the difference it has made. Feedback has included that the programme “played a key role in our investment readiness,” that “guidance from experienced industry experts has been crucial,” and that it “helped deliver the functionality necessary for commercialisation.”

The programme’s benefit reaches beyond the businesses it supports and into the town itself. Innovation Labs members are estimated to contribute around £37,500 a year to Stowmarket’s high street, an estimated £260,000 over the past seven years.