Lynsey Cunningham, Ulster Bank’s Regional Director of Entrepreneurship will head up the team and brings a wealth of experience to the role following a successful stint overseeing Ulster Bank’s Entrepreneur Accelerator programme.
Supporting Lynsey will be John Ferris, who has been appointed Entrepreneur Development Manager. John has been involved with the Ulster Bank Accelerator Programme since its inception, providing expert coaching and mentoring to start-ups, as well as helping them fulfil their potential.
Matthew Teague, in the role of Entrepreneur Acceleration Manager plays an integral role in coaching entrepreneurs; surrounding them with insight, challenge, support and the people to take themselves, and their businesses, further, and faster.
The other position of Entrepreneur Acceleration Manager has been filled by Gabi Burnside, who joins Ulster Bank from the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce. With experience in events and programme delivery and, more recently, as Business Services Manager, Gabi has organised major events such as Meet the Buyer programmes in Westminster and has been supporting a wide range of businesses across varying scales and sectors.
Developing entrepreneurship remains a key focus for Ulster Bank and the in-house team will build on the existing support being offered to start-up and scale-up businesses by both the Entrepreneur Accelerator and Business Boost programmes. Since launching in 2016, the Hub has supported more than 350 businesses, while the Business Boost team offer a series of free events designed to help grow and scale businesses.
A recent survey into global entrepreneurship trends found that Northern Ireland is still lagging behind when it comes to promoting entrepreneurial opportunities. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, supported locally by Ulster Bank, highlighted that just under one third of those surveyed (29.1%) felt that there were good prospects for a start-up in Northern Ireland in the next six months.
As the new Regional Director of Entrepreneurship, Lynsey Cunningham hopes that Ulster Bank’s increased focus will help to improve this picture.
“Ulster Bank’s Entrepreneurship Team is a clear demonstration of the bank’s commitment to further developing start-up and scale-up businesses and culture. The team appointed is made up of hugely talented individuals and I am confident that their skills, networks and expertise will help start-up and scale-up businesses overcome the challenges of starting and growing a business.
“We’re looking forward to working with entrepreneurs, with support from colleagues across Ulster Bank, and helping them access the support, advice and funding they need to thrive.”
For more information on the Entrepreneur Accelerator or to book a tour and see how the programme can help with your business journey, visit
https://digital.ulsterbank.co.uk/business/Services/accelerator.html or contact belfastaccelerator@ulsterbank.com
Matthew Teague, Entrepreneur Acceleration Manager; John Ferris, Entrepreneur Development Manager; Lynsey Cunningham, Ulster Bank's Regional Director of Entrepreneurship and Gabi Logan, who also takes up the position of Entrepreneur Acceleration Manager.
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