Festival fever for Yorkshire Bank at B Works this July

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10/06/2019

Welcome to the Festival of Technology & Innovation

This July Yorkshire Bank, in partnership with Tech Nation, supported by The Entrepreneurs Network, will bring together some of the most pioneering tech firms headquartered in the North and around the UK for the Festival of Technology & Innovation.

The UK is a critical hub in the global tech ecosystem and a strong economic performer and according to the 2019 Tech Nation report, UK Tech on the Global Stage, investment in technology is continuing at a rapid pace – investment in A.I. has grown six-fold since 2014, for example. The last 12 years have seen a much greater distribution of investment across the UK. Notably, the East of England has seen the greatest increase in capital invested across all tech companies, at 206%, followed by the West Midlands (54%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (51%). On an international scale, UK cities continue to attract investment on the global stage.

With debates and discussion on the role of the North in the UK’s and Europe’s tech sector and the role of financial services in supporting it, the festival will be split across two nights on the 2nd and 3rd July, bringing the spirit of some of the most iconic music, food and industry festivals to B Works, Manchester.

Guests can sign up to a variety of exciting panels and presentations with speakers from some of the country’s and the north’s fastest growing start ups, scale ups and entrepreneurs.

During breakouts guests will experience jaw-dropping in-store and on-street technology demos from some of the country’s most innovative and exciting businesses, but we won’t give anything away just yet. Our guests can also take advantage of the dedicated on-site Social Studio to create their own B2B social media content, with B Works staff on hand to advise and offer practical tips.

A killer soundtrack will be provided by a number of regional independent musical acts across both evenings, and we can now reveal a spectacular performance to close each night from award-winning international composer, artist and beatboxer, Reeps One.

Arriving fresh from Glastonbury the week before, Reeps One is recognized as one of the most powerful beatboxers on the globe. He closed the 2018 World Economic Forum and has collaborated with a diverse selection of artists and institutions including Damon Albarn, London and Harvard University and Nokia Bell Labs. Fusing art, technology and music, his critically acclaimed set is not to be missed.

Our own research has recently revealed that half of UK businesses that we surveyed think tech is more important to their business operations than people, yet as Gavin Opperman, Group Banking Business Director CYBG said, “We shouldn’t forget the importance of people in our digital economy”. In business and in life in general there will always be a need to build rapport, create relationships and trust and as a Bank we don’t underestimate the balance between tech and people. Guests can also find out more about Yorkshire Bank’s enhanced digital business banking platform.

To join us for the Yorkshire Bank Festival of Technology and Innovation book your free place here.

• Festival of Technology & Innovation report July 2019