Tech entrepreneurs pledge to mentor UK start-ups and SMEs

The initiative is part of the Royal Academy of Engineering's new Enterprise Hub, which launches today (29 April). The aim is to provide early stage companies with training and bespoke support to boost their business and the UK economy as a whole. Ian Shott, chair of the Enterprise Committee at the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: "Our vision for the Hub is to seed a culture of success amongst the most ambitious and high potential technology intensive SMEs in the UK. "It will build their capabilities and provide them with essential connections to established financing and business clusters that offer access to finance and routes to market. Success will be evidenced by UK companies creating substantial wealth, jobs and associated social and societal benefits." Business Secretary Vince Cable, pictured, added: "The government is focused on making this the decade of the engineer. Programmes like this will go a long way towards helping us achieve this ambition."