Following the global Rise launch in New York in July, Barclays has now re-branded its Escalator hubs in London and Manchester to expand Rise’s international reach. The Rise London and Rise Manchester sites will now be connected to the global network, enabling UK based innovators and start-ups to connect with Rise members across the world and scale their ideas to new markets. Barclays currently has a Rise hub in New York, and recently announced expansion to Cape Town and Tel Aviv. Additional sites are set to open globally in 2016.

Rise London and Rise Manchester will continue to provide free events and meeting space, as well as housing two Central Working collaborative workspace clubs. Rise London will also continue to house the London cohorts of the Barclays Accelerator powered by Techstars. The Barclays Accelerator is a 13-week intensive startup program designed to help businesses deliver breakthrough innovations in fintech. In addition, Rise is a global digital network aimed at promoting online collaboration and participation in innovation challenges.

“With Rise we’re unlocking the power of open innovation to co-create the future of financial services, which will ultimately benefit customers and clients across the globe.” said Derek White, Barclays Chief Design and Innovation Officer.

“We’re excited to be tapping into some of the most active locations for innovation in the world, connecting them to each other to accelerate the development of fintech. Our sites in London and Manchester will broaden our reach further, which now already spans four continents.” added White.

Rise London initially opened its doors in March 2014, with Rise Manchester following in November 2014 and New York in July 2015. To date Rise has hosted over 8,000 hours of events focused around innovation and entrepreneurship, attended by over 6,000 different businesses. The Barclays Accelerator programme has also received over 2,000 applications from over 95 countries across all cohorts.