Barclays has unveiled plans to bring its physical and virtual global start up community, Rise, to the UK by re-branding its Escalator hubs in London and Manchester.
Rise London was initially opened in March 2014, and Rise Manchester in November 2014. The British banking major has rebranded the two sites to expand the community’s international reach.
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Both the hubs will now be linked to the global network to allow UK-based innovators and start-ups connect with Rise members worldwide and scale their ideas to new markets.
The two sites will continue to offer free events and meeting space, along with housing for two Central Working collaborative workspace clubs.
In addition, Rise London will continue to accommodate the London cohorts of the Barclays Accelerator, which is a 13-week programme for fintech and cyber security startups, powered by Techstars.
The bank has already launched a Rise hub in New York, as well as has recently announced expansion to Cape Town and Tel Aviv. Plans are also on to launch additional Rise sites across the globe in 2016.
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By GlobalDataBarclays chief design and innovation officer Derek White commented: "With Rise we’re unlocking the power of open innovation to co-create the future of financial services, which will ultimately benefit customers and clients across the globe.
"We’re excited to be tapping into some of the most active locations for innovation in the world, connecting them to each other to accelerate the development of fintech. Our sites in London and Manchester will broaden our reach further, which now already spans four continents."
