Remember Silicon Roundabout? There was a time, about a decade ago, when London’s technology “scene” was so new that you could pay it a visit. If you took a tube to Old Street, you would find the capital’s hottest gaming companies, web titans and app-builders all in one place. Today, however, London’s tech sector has spilled well beyond the bounds of Shoreditch. Technology has been assimilated into the wider London economy: that great cross-industry melting pot of microbusinesses, global corporations and everything in between, which serves as the UK’s financial engine room.
The capital is responsible for nearly a quarter of the UK's GDP, and since those early Silicon Roundabout days, its reputation as a tech hub has gone from strength to strength. It’s no surprise, then, that many of the UK’s most rapidly scaling technology businesses have chosen to base themselves here. Just ask the participants of WIRED’s Trailblazer programme, an initiative delivered in partnership with HSBC UK, which highlights small to medium-sized companies that are pioneers in their fields. “London is the tech capital of Europe in terms of investment,” says Aron Gelbard, CEO and co-founder of online flower delivery company Bloom & Wild. “The access to capital and talent here helped us to scale our business, grow and become pan-European. It made sense to build our HQ in London as a springboard for national, and then international, growth.” This year, London was named the world’s second most innovative city after Silicon Valley in Startup Genome’s Global Start-Up Ecosystem Report.
What is more surprising is the proportion of London businesses that are making society better through innovation. Many of the businesses chosen for WIRED’s Trailblazers programme show that it’s possible to grow financially whilst being a force for good in the world. Take Huma, for example, which is Europe's fastest-growing healthcare company. Operating across four continents, it provides a remote patient monitoring platform to run digital ‘hospitals at home'. Or consider Carbon Clean, which makes cost-effective carbon capture technology for industry. As of October 2022, it has removed over 1.7 million metric tonnes of carbon from 49 plants across the globe. And then there’s Elvie, a women’s health company whose silent wearable breast pump has proven to be a game-changer in the femtech world. Working with companies that are seeking to make a positive impact is a rapidly growing trend according to Matt Osborne, HSBC UK’s Head of Corporate Banking for London. ‘‘We are working with an increasing number of high growth tech-led London-based businesses that are tackling Environmental, Social and Governance issues. It’s not a trend that’s going to go away, nor should it. A sustainable global economy starts with individual acts of conscience and responsible citizenship, and we have found that in the longer-term, companies that consider ESG factors will be better positioned for future success.’’
In 2019, Nesta named London the top city in Europe for developing tech for social good. A key factor it identified was the wealth of specialised talent available in the capital. With a population of over 9.5 million in 2022, London’s workforce offers a wide breadth of expertise. “We started our company in London because we were looking for the best people we could find for both the technology and science sides of the business,” says George Hadjigeorgiou, co-founder of the personalised nutrition programme ZOE, which rose to prominence during the pandemic for using its tech to run one of the world's largest studies of COVID-19.
Especially important for socially driven businesses is not just access to a smart and diverse pool of people, but a large, engaged community. Hadjigeorgiou says this has been an important element in ZOE’s success. “The capital isn’t just home to a high concentration of smart people – but smart people with a conscience. People who want to make a difference.’’ Tessa Clarke, co-founder and CEO of food-sharing app OLIO, agrees. She attributes the early success of her business – founded in 2015 to support her local community. “Hundreds of people came on board back then to volunteer and offer their help,” she says. “Now we have 50,000 ambassadors and 60 percent of our sign ups come through word of mouth.”
Diverse talent and communities have long been part of London life. Arguably what has galvanised these features to serve London’s ‘tech for good’ scene is the rise of impact investing. Research by EY and the Impact Investing Institute “conservatively estimates” that a minimum of £58bn is currently flowing into this space, with around 27% of all impact investing with a known geographical focus going to London. The appeal of the area goes beyond the fact it’s a safe haven and the UK’s financial capital. Think Tank Centre for London notes it is a city that faces “many growing challenges making it a fertile ground for impact investing.” This trend has undoubtedly benefited socially-minded businesses. “Our investors have been a combination of angels, VCs and impact funds,” says Clarke, who raised a $43m Series B round in September 2021. “As female founders operating in the ‘tech-for-good’ space, we are extremely grateful to be where we are as the odds were stacked against us.” OLIO now has six million users who have collectively shared over 66 million portions of food and six million household items, resulting in the equivalent of 200 million car miles being taken off the road and 10 billion litres of water being saved.
Like all cities, London is not short of challenges, from public service provision to pollution. That provides both an impetus and an opportunity for socially minded tech companies. Clarke believes that fast-growing outfits like OLIO can transform the nature of London’s business scene altogether. “London has been one of the leading financial capitals of the world for the 20th Century,” she says. “I would like to see it become the impact and ‘tech-for-good’ capital of the world for the 21st Century. If you look at the amount of money going into the impact space, I truly believe the opportunity is there for London to take on that role.”
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
