Amazon Innovation Accelerator launches for first cohort of Greater Manchester businesses

Tech giant, Amazon, has launched its new innovation accelerator in Greater Manchester, offering training and best practice to support the city-region’s small businesses to innovate and grow.

The programme offers free seminars and one-to-one mentoring from Amazon UK site leads, as well as giving small businesses a unique opportunity to see behind the scenes at the ecommerce and tech group to learn how it embraces new technology and applies innovation. As well as expertise from Amazon and Amazon Web Services colleagues, the Amazon Innovation Accelerator will also share guidance from The Growth Company and government-backed tech adoption programme, Made Smarter.

The programme has been launched initially in Greater Manchester, with participating businesses given the chance to see how Amazon has embraced robotics at its Bolton fulfilment centre. The Amazon Innovation Accelerator will launch in the West Midlands later this year, before a potential roll-out to other parts of the UK where the business also has a significant presence.

Small Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said:

“This programme is a fantastic example of industry working to support small businesses and local communities.

“This scheme, on top of over £48 million in government backed Start Up Loans issued so far to local businesses, will scale up SMEs in Greater Manchester, supporting jobs and growth in the region.”

Neil Travis, Regional Operations Director at Amazon said:

“Amazon has been serving customers in the UK for 25 years and we know how important it is to maintain a start-up mentality and find new ways to innovate.

“The success of small businesses is vital to Amazon, and we want to use the expertise of our teams in Greater Manchester to be a catalyst for growth and productivity for more local businesses and have a positive impact on jobs and the community.”