Birmingham’s Serendip Smart City Incubator has welcomed two new social enterprises, with Altruist Enterprises and Inside Outcomes becoming the latest start-ups to join the Incubator’s Digital Health Quarter.
Based at Innovation Birmingham Campus’ iCentrum building, the Serendip Smart City Incubator programme provides market access and expertise for digital businesses through close partnerships with major organisations such as Barclays and London Midland accelerating the early growth of new business, with the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) the partner in the Digital Health Quarter.
The first social enterprise to join the Digital Health Quarter, Altruist Enterprises is a caring provider of resilience, stress management and mental health first aid training to organisations and schools. Founder Katie Buckingham said:
“We are delighted to be the first social enterprise to move into the Serendip Digital Health Quarter. I’m very excited about the prospect of working with experienced mentors who will guide us in the right direction and hopefully we can make some great relationships and find commercial partners for our training programmes.”
Inside Outcomes, the second social enterprise to take up residency in the Quarter, supports organisations that work in health and social care to demonstrate social value and impact.
Using open source tools, the organisation helps service providers to demonstrate impact through evidence-based outcomes, associating day-to-day activity with the NHS Outcome Framework. Founder Darren Wright said:
“I am delighted that Innovation Birmingham and WMAHSN are helping Inside Outcomes to grow our business across the West Midlands, particularly helping to get our products, the Risk Tracker system, and the Referral Tool into local healthcare trusts to record their work, demonstrate success and make effective referrals.”
Both organisations will have access to a database of market influencers, clients and collaborators, as well as admission to over 140 specific start-up and innovation-focused events. Hugo Russell, Project Manager for the Serendip Smart City Incubator added:
“The integration of Altruist Enterprises and Inside Outcomes presents a great opportunity for two promising ventures to utilise the facilities, networks and contacts within the Serendip business support programme, promoting collaborative and creative working methods within the Innovation Birmingham Campus.
“Attracting two of the region’s promising digital health businesses highlights how our partnership with the WMAHSN is being recognised as a key way to drive business growth and enhance health services throughout the region. I look forward to working closely with both businesses and am excited to be a part of each venture’s unique journey.”
The two start-ups were selected after an application process, and they have been given access to six months free co-working space in the heart of Birmingham, with 1-2-1 business mentoring.
By co-locating promising businesses with large, existing partners, the programme provides a platform to refine products and services while maintaining a commercial focus.