The rise of organisations such as Praetura – which launched its first fund in 2019 (Praetura EIS Growth Fund) and has been carrying out venture capital investment since 2011 – shows that financial life reaches far beyond London and the Southeast.

Praetura, the UK venture capital firm interviewed last year by this news service, has joined forces with Manchester Tech Festival to sponsor and curate this year’s Scale Up Track.

The event includes a series of talks focused on growing the early-stage ecosystem through tech investment, networking and local initiatives.

The business, which has invested in local scale-ups such as Peak AI, Modern Milkman, BankiFi and Arctic Shores, will book and oversee a full roster of guest speakers, including founders and investors from across Manchester and the surrounding regions, when the event returns to Victoria Baths in October.

“Manchester has one of the most exciting tech scenes in the world right now and we, as investors, have a duty of care to ensure the city’s ecosystem is as attractive as possible to new founders to keep up the momentum. We need to inspire future generations of founders to scale a business from this city,” David Foreman, managing partner at Praetura Ventures, (part of the group), said. 

The week-long event is also backed by founding partners Money Supermarket Group, Booking.com, Morson Group, Venturi and BJSS. The programme will be supported by Manchester City Council, the Department for International Trade, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Digital Security Hub (DiSH) and other local organisations.

The rise of organisations such as Praetura – which launched its first fund in 2019 (Praetura EIS Growth Fund) and has been carrying out venture capital investment since 2011 – shows that financial life reaches far beyond London and the Southeast.