Tani Dulay, chief executive of property investor and developer Woodbourne Group, has unveiled a new early capital and pre-seed accelerator fund which will support other talented entrepreneurs.
Woodbourne Ventures has £1 million allocated to back promising Birmingham-based businesses. Its aim is to help the city’s entrepreneurs build successful businesses that will generate jobs and attract further investment to the region.
Tani said:
“It is enormously exciting to announce the launch of Woodbourne Ventures, a fund founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. This early-capital and pre-seed accelerator fund will enable remarkable entrepreneurs to build breakthrough businesses right here in Birmingham.
“Woodbourne Ventures will champion the next generation of entrepreneurs and wealth-creators who are striving to build exciting breakthrough businesses. We take our inspiration from the ideas, dreams and goals of talented individuals looking to take their vision to the next level.
“By being there at the very beginning, we will give founders the best platform to grow through the first stage of business development and then raise the necessary later-stage capital.”
He added:
“Birmingham is such an exciting, vibrant city with a true entrepreneurial spirit which has been evident since before it became the city of a thousand trades. For start-ups it is the place to be, with access to a young and educated workforce and support available from organisations such as the West Midlands Growth Company and Woodbourne Ventures.
“We have a very successful track record in business and it is this inside knowledge of the start-up and growth process that informs everything we do. We will give our all to help these new businesses succeed and, with that in mind, we prefer to be the lead investor.”
Four companies have received funds to date – a clean-tech business that produces net zero concrete, a sustainable loungewear company, a fintech trading business and the fourth is a web3 based company which is to be announced shortly. For more information on Woodbourne Ventures and to apply for funding, please visit Woodbourne Ventures.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:
“Woodbourne Group have already demonstrated a rock solid commitment to Birmingham with their £360 million plans to create the landmark net zero carbon ready Curzon Wharf development.
“I am pleased to hear they are now doubling down on their commitment to Birmingham with the unveiling of Woodbourne Ventures – a wonderful initiative in support of local entrepreneurs which I wholeheartedly welcome and which is so at home here with our famously ‘can-do’ attitude and vast array of cutting edge companies.
“Birmingham and the wider West Midlands is blessed with a dynamic entrepreneurial heritage with a formidable track record of pioneers and innovators generating the ideas, products and services of the future. I look forward to seeing today’s ambitious entrepreneurs and technology start-ups find success with the support of Tani and his team.”
Birmingham City Council leader Councillor Ian Ward said:
“Birmingham has a long and successful business history and has been the birthplace of thousands of companies dating back beyond the Industrial Revolution. Entrepreneurs need financial support to make their visions become reality and I am therefore delighted to see the launch of Woodbourne Ventures.”
Woodbourne Group is the company behind £360 million plans for the world’s first mixed-use, net zero carbon ready development in Birmingham.
A waterfront ecosystem, it will be a short walk from the new HS2 Curzon Street Station, offering sweeping views of the city and beyond. The masterplan development of almost one million square feet is expected to boost the Birmingham economy by at least £151 million and create over 1,000 jobs.
Curzon Wharf will provide a sustainable, mixed-use space incorporating high quality accommodation providing up to 732 student flats, 265 residential co-living units with generous amenity space and up to 498 residential units,” he said.
In addition, it will include nearly 130,000 sq ft of office, R&D and life science space, over 3,000 sq ft of retail space, over 15,000 sq ft of leisure space, over 76,424 sq ft of new and improved public realm and 490m of new and improved walking and cycling routes.
Woodbourne Group is an investment and development group that exploits potential across all aspects of real estate through creative flair and entrepreneurial vision. Driven to reinforce Birmingham’s position as a leading sustainable city, its projects continue to regenerate the city and attract both cultural and business investment. Woodbourne Group is facing the sustainability challenge head on, creating people and planet-centred developments that unlock economic opportunities without costing the earth.