LAST CHANCE FOR GREEN BUSINESSES TO ACCESS UP TO £1M FUNDING AND SUPPORT

APPLICATIONS FOR BERTI GREEN ACCELERATOR CLOSE 17 APRIL

Aspiring green entrepreneurs have just over a week left to apply for the first round of the Berti Green Accelerator, a new programme offering first-class business support and access to a multi-million pound fund for the UK’s most innovative low carbon businesses.

Each year the Berti Green Accelerator programme, supported by James Caan’s Hamilton Bradshaw Impact Partners (HBIP), will search for three successful low carbon businesses to award six months of business support from HBIP and the opportunity to receive funding of up to £1million from Berti Investments. Applications for 2012 close on Tuesday 17 April.

Seth Tabatznik, director of Berti Investments said: “Cleantech is a burgeoning sector in the UK market place, and yet deserving innovative UK start-ups are increasingly stumped for funding opportunities and support that would allow them to scale as rapidly as they could. Berti has launched the Berti Green Accelerator to help SMEs and entrepreneurs working in the low carbon sector by providing intelligent capital, combining bespoke business support, through James Caan’s Hamilton Bradshaw Impact Partners, and access to funding.

“Encouraging entrepreneurs and providing them with bespoke expertise and support is the best way of ensuring not only that these businesses can be sustainable, but that they can become competitive and attractive to investors with single bottom line motives. The extent of encouragement towards green growth, catalyzed by supporting entrepreneurs and encouraging investment into the low carbon sector, is no doubt going to determine the future of Britain.”

James Caan, founder and CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw said: “We are collaborating with Berti Investments because we have a strong interest in providing business expertise to social purpose businesses. The Berti Green Accelerator illustrates HBIP’s core message that every business needs expertise to be successful. But, for social enterprises, it’s often difficult to attract and pay for talent. We will work alongside the successful Berti Green Accelerator companies and will identify experts within our organisations that can help to nurture their business to have a greater financial and social impact IN THE SAME WAY WE NURTURE OUR OWN PORTFOLIO OF BUSINESSES .”

The Berti Green Accelerator programme is open to any conceptually good, low carbon UK business with growth potential and a proof of concept. The three successful businesses will have to demonstrate that their business aims to tackle climate change by sustainably reducing carbon emissions.

Applications for the 2012 programme close on Tuesday 17 April. Shortlisted candidates will pitch to a Dragons’ Den style panel of judges including James Caan, Jeremy Leggett (founder and chairman of Solarcentury), Michael Liebreich (founder and chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance) and Jacques Tredoux (Berti Investments).

The Berti Green Accelerator is endorsed by a number of partners from the cleantech and business support sector, including ecoConnect, Business in the Community, Ecometrica, Grant Thornton, Catalyst Venture Partners, ClearlySo and 10:10.

For further information or to apply go to bertiinvestments.com/berti-green-accelerator/