Akcela's portfolio companies are building real products for real markets. We prepare them to be investor-ready. Attend our demo days and events to see them in action, or get listed on our platform so founders can reach out to you directly.
The opportunity
Norwich sits at the heart of a £10 billion economy with 24,000 businesses and nearly 160,000 jobs. It's been recognised as one of five highly influential “alternative” tech clusters in Europe, alongside Toulouse, Gothenburg, Odense, and Lausanne.
But Norfolk's digital sector is still punching below its weight. The gap between the region's potential and its current digital output is significant, and that gap is where the opportunity lies.
Akcela is the bridge between Norfolk's deep domain expertise (financial services, agriculture, research, creative industries) and the startup playbook. Our founders aren't chasing trends, they're solving problems they've lived with for years, in industries they understand inside out.
What our founders look like
Every company that comes through Akcela's incubation programme has been through a structured process. When you meet them at a demo day or event, you're meeting founders who have:
We don’t let founders raise until they’ve done the customer discovery work.
We help build teams with complementary skills before they go to market.
Pitch decks, financial models, and due diligence packs prepared with support from our team and legal partners.
Many of our portfolio companies qualify for SEIS/EIS tax relief, making early-stage investment significantly more attractive.
Akcela continues to work with portfolio companies through their incubation period, protecting your investment with hands-on guidance.
Track record
See them pitch
The best way to discover Akcela companies is to see them in person. We run regular demo days, pitch events, and community meetups where our founders present what they're building. We work closely with Anglia Capital Group and are members of the UK Business Angels Association.
Get in touch about upcoming eventsGet listed
Akcela operates a Startup Funding Portal where founders discover grants, events, and investor groups. Get in touch to be added to our investor directory, and Akcela-backed startups can find you and reach out directly when they're ready to raise.
Talk to us about getting listedGet in touch to hear about upcoming demo days, pitch events, or to be added to our investor directory.