The Social Tech Amplifier, launched today, is set to mobilise the power and energy of tech ventures in public service delivery to help young people access jobs and navigate the future of work.
Delivered in partnership by Catch22, Ufi VocTech Trust and the Social Tech Trust, and supported by Hatch and Microsoft, the Amplifier is inviting ventures to apply for the programme, where they’ll receive support to scale their ideas.
David Hinton, Catch22’s Project Lead for the Social Tech Amplifier, said:
“At Catch22, we have an ambitious agenda for driving reform in delivering public services, we are increasingly adopting innovations in tackling the injustices faced by young people in the labour market.
“Through this exciting new partnership we will be drawing on our shared networks, expertise and resources to accelerate the most promising ventures innovating in this space.
“We are excited to be working with ventures who have the potential to transform the youth employment system with solutions which are both impactful and commercially sustainable.
“Our experience tells us that there are significant opportunities to drive reform by supporting ventures in this way; ventures we supported through our previous Incubate, Accelerate, Amplify programme won public sector contracts to the value of £21m and continue to drive innovation in public service delivery.”
Those ventures who are successful in applying to be part of the Social Trust Amplifier will receive support with:
- Accessing Business to Government (B2G) markets
- Helping ventures to identify the impact and commercial opportunities for deployment in public service delivery.
- Helping ventures to test and refine solutions through existing supply chain and network partners
- Helping ventures to deploy impactful and commercially successful solutions in the B2G market
- Venture development and contract readiness
- A series of workshops including strategy, finance, branding, marketing, sales, and pitching
- Peer support and expert coaching and mentoring sessions
- Demo Day showcasing business to a panel of experts
- Technology support
- Microsoft Founder Hub resources including products and Azure credits.
- Expert mentors – advice and guidance from Microsoft’s technical experts.
- Partner offers – access to product and service offers from Microsoft partners.
- Raising investment
- Helping ventures know what types of funding and investment is available to them and best aligns with their goals and needs
- Helping ventures understand the process of raising investment and what they need to prepare for fundraising
- Helping ventures understand what different investors are looking for and start to form an investment strategy
Louise Rowland, Deputy CEO, Ufi VocTech Trust said:
“Digital technology has a crucial role to play in opening-up opportunities for skill development, access to employment and progression in the workplace – the core focus of our work at Ufi. We’re very proud to be a partner in the Social Tech Amplifier, supporting new ventures to scale and transforming the employment prospects of young people.”
Chris Blues, Programme Director at the Social Tech Trust, said:
“Technology can be a powerful tool for addressing the world’s biggest challenges. The Social Tech Amplifier will truly supercharge young people’s employment prospects through scaling impact tech ventures.
“We know all know that talent is evenly distributed, yet opportunity is not. The Social Tech Amplifier will showcase how we can create a world where social transformation is the driving force behind tech and nurture solutions that have a deep-rooted impact on young people’s lives.”