AccelerateHER and CodeBase team up to foster new generation of female tech bosses

AccelerateHER and CodeBase have joined forces to increase women company-founder participation in a Scotland-wide programme designed to inspire and support a new generation of tech entrepreneurs.

The two organisations – a female founders network and what is claimed to be the largest technology incubator in the UK respectively – have shaken hands on the new partnership that is setting out to give women tech leaders a “clear access route” to tech scaler activity.

It comes after the Scottish Government in July awarded a £42 million tech scaler contract to CodeBase, and now, with support from Holyrood, the two collaborating organisations, which are both based in Edinburgh, will stage a series of tech clinics between now and the end of March aimed at helping female and non-binary founders.

The first of these, being staged on Monday September 26 and led by CodeBase’s chief strategy officer Steven Drost, is focused on helping early-stage women founders build tech and minimal viable products to test their market. A follow-up event on October 13 will be led by female-founded Valla, a legal-focused tech disruptor company.

Stephen Coleman, chief executive and co-founder of the tech incubator, said: “We look forward to working with AccelerateHER and their vast network of women founders to support them in building their businesses via education programmes, community-building and networking.”

Jackie Waring, AccelerateHER chair, said: “We are incredibly excited to partner with CodeBase and build on the close long-term relationship that’s developed between the two organisations. This initiative adds value to the thousands of female founders that we support and will further enable CodeBase to increase diversity across the Scottish Government’s tech scaler programme.”