Update: The shortlisted businesses have been announceds as:
- Pixel Play Lounge – an innovative new gaming and esports venue in St Helens, Merseyside with consoles, racing simulator rigs and a War Room for FPS gameplay
- ExerPlay – an electronic game designed to assist with rehabilitation of people affected by stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions
- KeyKats KatKeys – manufacturer of artisan and infinitely customisable computer key caps using a patented photopolymer 3D printing method
- MonoSim – a new racing simulation experience that allows the customer to experience the thrill of driving a high-performance supercar at various world locations and compete in esports events that offer a perfectly level playing field and closely matched opponents, on demand.
Original article: Merseyside Esports Limited (MEL), a joint venture company owned by League Two English football club Tranmere Rovers and external investors, has launched a new business incubator.
The Digital Business Innovation Incubator is ‘designed to transform entrepreneurial dreams into real success stories’ and is now inviting applications for support.
It provides a package of financial aid, professional guidance and collaborative opportunities, and aims to provide a support system to help early-stage business ventures succeed in the fields of digital technology, virtual reality, app development, gaming and esports.
The entry submission deadline is February 14th 2025, with the winners announced on March 3rd and the incubator going live on March 10th.
Applicants can get involved as part of an open competition process, with the link at the bottom of this article.
‘We are providing a salary for the entrepreneur for a year, to enable them to focus full time on making their vision a reality. In return for the financial support, MEL will take a small equity stake in the supported businesses, ensuring that our interests in their success are aligned.’
Jiaping Song and Yunan Wang, Merseyside Esports Limited
Esports News UK asked Merseyside Esports Limited if there is any Government or Council involvement, and were told there isn’t at this stage, but that it will ‘help supported businesses to explore that once they prove they have a viable business’.
It’s the latest programme following the similar British Esports’ Esports Accelerator Programme last year.
Jiaping Song and Yunan Wang, two of the owners of Merseyside Esports Limited, said: “Business Incubators help new businesses and startups overcome the challenges they encounter by providing support, learning and cost savings.
“We are going one step further by providing a salary for the entrepreneur for a year, to enable them to focus full time on making their vision a reality. In return for the financial support, MEL will take a small equity stake in the supported businesses, ensuring that our interests in their success are aligned.”
The incubator ‘aims to cement Merseyside’s position as a leading hub for innovation in the UK. Whether you’re a visionary game or app developer, an innovator in virtual reality, or even an esports team with a pathway to profitability, this incubator is your opportunity to bring your vision to life’.
What Merseyside Esports Limited’s Digital Business Innovation Incubator provides
The selected applicants will receive a package for 12 months worth over £50,000, including:
- A salary for one individual per supported business of £25,000 per annum
- Free work/office space within the MEL incubator hub at Prenton Park
- Utilities bills and property rates paid
- An assigned business mentor
- Workshops and coaching sessions on subjects such as finance and marketing
- Free Premium membership of Wirral Chamber of Commerce
- Access to policy and procedures templates
- Community support from fellow entrepreneurs within the hub
- The opportunity to collaborate with universities and Tranmere Rovers Football Club
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
