Inicio AI Ltd, UK: Leicester-based fintech Inicio AI has won a place on the NatWest Business Accelerator Programme at the University of Warwick, with access to the University’s world-class facilities.

The programme, delivered jointly by NatWest and WMG, University of Warwick provides 1:1 coaching, access to their accelerator growth events and access to work space, as well as learning hubs at the University of Warwick and Birmingham.

The workspace at the Warwick Innovation District on the University’s campus is designed to give regional start-ups like Inicio AI a flexible meeting space to collaborate and to share ideas with other entrepreneurs. The programme also offers extensive opportunities for mentorship, learning and people development, within the wider Midlands business community.

Inicio AI has built a next gen conversational AI driven affordability tool that helps customers in financial difficulty complete an Income & Expenditure (I&E) assessment. The company’s SaaS platform is live with clients with a growing pipeline of interested businesses and partners, and a collaboration providing the solution through the government Debt Resolution Services (DRS) framework.

NatWest supported over 55,000 entrepreneurs in 2021 and by 2023 had opened 14 accelerator hubs across the UK. The NatWest are keen to attract more female and BAME led businesses to the programme as well as companies outside London and the South East.

‘Inicio AI is delighted to have won a place on the NatWest accelerator. Our access to the Warwick University hub is a fantastic opportunity to share ideas with other entrepreneurs. As a small company with team members working remotely across the UK, we look forward to using the hub as a flexible meeting space in the months ahead.’ comments Rachel Curtis, Inicio AI’s CEO.

In the short time that Rachel and the team have been developing the conversational AI solution they have been noticed by several innovation awards including TechNation’s Rising Stars judges and the University of Edinburgh AI Accelerator which they recently completed as the winning business. In November 2022, Inicio AI was also shortlisted as a finalist in the Technology Team of the Year category (with partners NeoTalent and Ruption) at the Credit & Collections Technology Awards 2022.