GC Angels announces second cohort of Venture Forward accelerator programme

GC Angels, the venture capital investment arm of The Growth Company – the largest social enterprise institution in Greater Manchester – has announced the second cohort of its Venture Forward accelerator programme, an Innovate UK initiative supporting underrepresented founders in the North of England to prepare for their first institutional investment round.

The programme is delivered by the investment managers that make investment decisions for GC Angels. This equips early-stage founders with first-hand knowledge, tools and investor connections needed to raise their first VC investment within the next 12 months.

Following the successful delivery of Cohort 1 between October and December 2025 in Manchester – where five of the 30 participating founders secured investment within two months of completing the programme – Cohort 2 will now support a further 22 high-potential businesses from across the North.

The strength of applications for the second cohort has enabled GC Angels to continue prioritising founder diversity in its recruitment. As a result, 55% of founders in Cohort 2 are from an ethnic minority background and 55% are female founders, significantly higher than industry averages and reflective of the programme’s mission to widen access to venture capital.

Cohort 2 reflects the breadth of innovation across the region. Founders are based in Manchester (23%), Stockport (23%) and Leeds (14%), alongside wider representation from across the North of England. The businesses span a wide range of sectors, including health-tech, food-tech, agri-tech, creative-tech, sports-tech, construction, biotechnology, e-commerce and pet-tech, highlighting the diversity of the region’s early-stage ecosystem.

Running over eight weeks in Leeds, the programme offers founders expert-led workshops, one-to-one mentoring, practical fundraising guidance and direct access to investors. Following completion, GC Angels will offer up to £500k of equity investment to standout founders, providing the capital needed to scale their businesses and accelerate growth.

Marc Shirman, GC head of Equity Investment, said: “The success of our first cohort demonstrated both the scale of underrepresented talent across the North and the clear need for targeted early-stage support. It was great to work with these founders and to invest in five of them, playing a critical role in their growth journey.

“The quality of applications for Cohort 2 was exceptionally strong, allowing us to continue building a cohort that reflects the diversity and ambition of the region. Venture Forward goes beyond just preparing founders to pitch, giving them insight into investor thinking, boosting confidence, and creating connections that result in real investment.”

Cohort 2: