Cambridge is a renowned global centre of innovation and recent Government announcements underscore how vital the city is to UK PLC.

Just this week, levelling up secretary Michael Gove lauded the success of businesses here and outlined proposals to further incubate enterprise. This would support the ambition of his boss, Rishi Sunak, for the country to be a science and tech superpower by the end of the decade. 

It is a worthy ambition – and making the most of Britain’s strengths is a smart move – but the Government needs a clear route map to achieve this. Having bold aims without a plan for implementation does not drive change – it only drives frustration. 

The Chancellor’s recent Mansion House speech presents one such path to success. His pension reforms are an unmatched opportunity for the start-up community in the UK. 

Jeremy Hunt has convinced nine UK pension providers to assign 5% of their funds to ‘unlisted equities’ by 2030, potentially unlocking £50bn from defined contribution pensions and £25bn from local government pensions to be invested in high-growth companies. Similar reforms in the United States have unlocked billions of dollars for enterprises. 

One critical challenge is that start-ups need capital. Without it, new intellectual property-enabled, deep tech businesses fail to be launched, scale, and crucially to attract the world class talent required to exploit opportunities.

Funding is often sourced from the venture capital community. While this works for some new businesses, it is not always a feasible first step. Prospects for funding are not evenly dispersed across the country and many VC firms do not invest at the pre-seed stage when spin-outs need cash the most.

This is where universities can step in, and utilise the governments innovation framework such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). By leveraging their partnerships, their alumni and their status, universities can access investment capital which can be out of reach to fledgling entrepreneurs.