A NEW programme which could unlock £20million of business investment into Basingstoke is set to get a funding boost if plans are approved by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Cabinet tonight.

The borough council is set to give a £100,000 grant to SETsquared to create a business incubator in Basingstoke which will see support given to small businesses across the borough.

A business incubator aims to speed up the growth and success of start-up and early-stage companies by providing them with access to valuable services and resources.

The hub, which will be based in Basing View, will provide a place where people can meet and network and it will connect local entrepreneurs with experts and academics in the hi-tech field and support services to help businesses start up.

In January, the Enterprise M3 local enterprise partnership identified Basingstoke as one of the four key towns that would lead the economic growth in the area, along with Farnborough, Guildford and Woking.

If the plans are approved to release the grant to SETsquared, the partnership, which is a collaboration between five leading research universities across the U.K – Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and the University of Surrey – will support the creation of 20 high growth companies and a network of growth companies across the district.

And SETsquared aim to bring in £20million of new investment by working with the borough council to unlock investment from funders including Enterprise M3, the UK Space Agency and the Higher Education Funding Council for England for 2015-17.

SETsquared has already approached the UK Space Agency which has expressed support for the proposal as well as the University of Surrey which has said it expects to provide financial support for the Basingstoke incubator to help with its work on developing 5G.

Borough council leader, Councillor Clive Sanders, said: “We need to create thousands of new jobs for our growing population.

“It is important to attract existing businesses but essential that we also grow our own. We want to see new companies setting up home in our area and growing here.

“An incubation hub brings together people who have a good idea with those who have resources and money and those who have expertise in pulling it all together. Basingstoke is already recognised as one of the best places in the country to set up a hi-tech company.

“This is a great chance to go into partnership with one of the world’s top business development groups to bring exciting new opportunities to Basingstoke.”

Innovation director at SETsquared, Simon Bond, said: “We’re delighted to work with the council on this project to find and grow the next generation of tech start-up companies.

“This is one of the UK’s hotspots for technology innovation and we’re looking forward to working with the people of Basingstoke and Deane to create more jobs and growth in the borough, building on the strong heritage of engineering and innovation. I’m certain that we’ll be a powerful partnership for the future.”