NatWest Plans to Grow Accelerator Community to 50,000 Members Across the UK in 2026

NatWest Group, one of the UK’s leading financial institutions, has unveiled ambitious plans to expand its Accelerator community to 50,000 members across the United Kingdom by the end of 2026, a major scaling up of its entrepreneur support initiative.

This new target represents a five-fold increase over the bank’s original 2025 ambition of supporting 10,000 Accelerator participants — and reflects the rapid growth and impact of the programme to date. In 2025, NatWest surpassed expectations, growing its community to around 12,000 members in a single year — more than it had supported in the previous decade combined.

What the NatWest Accelerator Is

Launched over a decade ago, NatWest Accelerator is designed to support founders, small business owners and high-growth ventures by providing access to:

• Expert mentoring and coaching,
• Peer networks and community cohorts,
• Access to investors and specialised forums,
• Workshops on funding, scaling and business strategy,
• Online learning and tools via the Accelerator App.

The programme is free to join, open to founders regardless of banking relationship, and includes physical hubs in cities across the UK such as Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle and Warwick — with more locations planned as the initiative expands.

Driving Entrepreneurial Growth Nationwide

NatWest’s expansion plans are part of its broader Growing Together agenda — a five-point strategy aimed at unlocking regional productivity, championing mid-market firms, strengthening infrastructure, boosting financial confidence, and supporting innovators shaping the future economy.

Robert Begbie, CEO of Commercial & Institutional Banking at NatWest Group, emphasised that scaling the Accelerator reflects the bank’s belief that entrepreneurs are essential to UK economic growth and resilience. He said the initiative builds on the strong momentum achieved in 2025 and reinforces NatWest’s commitment to back founders “from idea to scale-up”.

The programme’s impact metrics further demonstrate its effectiveness: businesses supported through the Accelerator have shown turnover growth of over 100% year on year, and around nine in ten still trade three years after participation, significantly outperforming control groups.

How the Expansion Will Work

To reach its 50,000-member goal in 2026, NatWest plans to:

1. Expand Hubs and University Partnerships — The bank is building partnerships with universities and establishing local hubs that provide tailored support and space for founders. Universities like Manchester, Oxford, York, Brighton and Warwick are already participating, and NatWest aims to expand to up to ten university hubs over the next three years.

2. Strengthen Digital Support — Through the NatWest Accelerator App, members can access learning modules, networking opportunities, and expert tools that supplement in-person engagement.

3. Increase Events, Pitch Forums and Collaboration — The programme will hold nationwide pitch events and forums to help founders showcase ideas, find investment, and build strategic networks.

This distributed model — blending physical hubs, digital platforms and university partnerships — is designed to ensure that entrepreneurs from all regions, not just London or major cities, benefit from world-class support and access to expertise.

Economic and Social Impact

The expansion aligns with broader UK economic priorities, particularly around job creation, innovation and regional resilience. Start-up activity across many regions has been growing, with significant increases in company incorporations nationwide. Programmes like NatWest’s Accelerator help translate this entrepreneurial activity into sustainable growth, increased investment flows and higher long-term survival rates for small businesses.

The strong community focus also promotes peer learning and collaboration, fostering an environment where founders can support each other and share insights — a critical advantage in today’s competitive business landscape.

Voices from the community underscore the programme’s value: founders have cited access to networking, structured business planning support, and targeted professional guidance as pivotal in helping them refine their propositions and scale with confidence.

Looking Ahead

With its bold ambition for 2026, NatWest is positioning the Accelerator community as a cornerstone of the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem — not just a banking programme but a national growth engine that nurtures startups, supports scale-ups and embeds sustainable business practices.

NatWest believes that supporting entrepreneurs with expert advice, networks and access to capital will help unlock structural economic barriers and spread opportunities more broadly across the UK — reinforcing the idea that banks can play an active role in growth beyond traditional lending.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners interested in joining the NatWest Accelerator community can find more details and registration information on the NatWest Accelerator website.

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