North East England, £1.9M Initiative to Create Software Companies

Codeworks, the North East England’s centre for digital innovation, is to launch the Digital Evaluation Vehicle (DEV), a £1.9m software prototyping service focused on accelerating the creation of high growth software companies in the region.

The project is being part financed by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Competitiveness Programme 2007-13, securing £805,000 ERDF investment through regional development agency One North East. The agency is contributing a further £915,000 from its Single Programme.
Within the framework of the Innovation, Advice and Guidance product, the Codeworks DEV programme is funded as part of Solutions for Business, the Government’s package of publicly funded business support designed to help companies start and grow.

As stated by the DEV Programme Leader, Fred Pernet, the target of the initiative is to develop 20 software prototypes worth around £30,000 each, typically with about £10,000 coming from the inventor which is then matched by £20,000 from Single Programme and European Union funding.

Entrepreneurs or companies with a new software concept for development and prototyping will be identified. Codeworks DEV will then work with them on these early stage ideas to analyse their market potential, technical requirements and provide a development roadmap for design and testing.
Entrepreneurs who go through the process will leave with a prototype or demonstrator to help them raise further investment or bring their concept to market.

Companies interested in having more information about the project can call Codeworks on 0191 556 1122 or e-mail [email protected]

03/12/2009