News and blogs
We’ve collected all of the news and blog posts from across the team at Allia – read on for insights about impact; spotlights on some of the exciting projects our tenants and partners work on; and interesting thought-pieces from across the sector
Winning prize shared between ventures at the DIF-Allia Accelerator Challenge final pitch day
Six-month programme culminates in pitch day with three winning ventures awarded
GrandNanny, a social enterprise that matches working families with midlife+ neighbours to provide rewarding jobs and reliable childcare, has been awarded £10,000 by DIF Capital for winning the DIF-Allia Accelerator Challenge, with Greater Change and Appt also being awarded £7,500 each.
Lessons from the Impact Accelerator
At Allia, we have been working with impact ventures for many years (70+ ventures and over £90 million raised by alumni). Yet we are still iterating on how we can make the Impact Accelerator more and more relevant to founders and the ecosystem as a whole.
Free support for local businesses in Cambridge and Peterborough to help them grow
Allia receives 3-year European funding to support delivery of programmes across Greater Cambridgeshire
Allia Future Business Centres has been awarded funding from the European Regional Development Fund to support hundreds of local businesses across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough through a range of free training, advice and support programmes.
Innovation Lab relaunches at Allia Future Business Centre Peterborough
State-of-the-art lab for developing and testing innovative products that address environmental and social challenges
Allia Future Business Centre today announces the relaunch of the Innovation Lab at its centre in Peterborough.
Allia Future Business Centre supports NHS by hosting local Covid-19 antibody test clinic
The business centre at Peterborough United’s stadium provides venue for free testing for the region’s care staff
Allia Future Business Centre Peterborough is proud to be supporting the NHS by providing a venue for its local Covid-19 antibody testing clinic.
Our centres are Covid-safe – we’re here when you’re ready to move forward
Recovery. A word we’re hearing a lot right now, as we start to emerge tentatively from the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. For some, the recovery will be a physical one, to gradually get well again after falling ill with the virus that has affected millions of people the world over.
Allia leads project to provide homeless people with supported housing in Cambridge
ALLIA WORKS WITH JIMMY’S AND NEW MEANING FOUNDATION TO DESIGN, BUILD AND INSTALL MUCH NEEDED COMMUNITY HOUSING IN THE CITY
Six new homes have been built to provide supported living for homeless people in Cambridge. Led by Allia, a charity dedicated to the creation of positive impact, this innovative housing project was the result of a 12-month partnership with Jimmy’s, the Cambridge homelessness charity, and the New Meaning Foundation, an ethical construction social enterprise.
Allia C&C joins forces with other UK bodies to campaign for lower limit on Retail Charity Bonds
Allia C&C – an expert in socially responsible finance – has joined forces with the Impact Investing Institute, Big Society Capital and Social Enterprise UK to lobby for the threshold for Retail Charity Bonds (RCB) to be lowered to allow more charity borrowers access to this type of funding.
Peterborough, the city of entrepreneurs?
Given the year we’ve just had, it’s understandable to reflect on how far-reaching the economic effects of Covid-19 and lockdown will be, particularly on business and employment. Yet despite that fact, as a Peterborough native, I’m pleased to report the fiery entrepreneurial spirit of the people of Peterborough is burning brightly, with record numbers of business registrations in the last year.
Returning to the office – one size doesn’t fit all
As we start to see lockdown restrictions gradually lifted in the UK, much debate is being had about the big return to the office. It seems like a very long year ago that most of us office-workers had to leave our desks and work from home due to the Covid-19 crisis – and the experience has altered our lives and dominated our news feeds ever since.
Got a business idea? Test it out with Allia!
As applications open for our new Ideation and Validation programme that will run for 2 months from our centre in Peterborough, we speak to Emma Mee, Programme Manager, about the programme, who it can help and how it can identify if a business idea can be turned into reality.
International Women’s Day 2021
We always mark International Women’s Day (IWD) at Allia. And we’re not just jumping on the bandwagon for one day of the year either – our ethos has always been genuinely focused on equality and diversity for all. With a staff team that’s almost 65% female, and with women making up 3/5 of the senior management team, it makes a change from the many male dominated businesses around.