Launch of business incubator at Kingston Business School hopes to encourage and support Kingston's latest group of student entrepreneurs

Posted Thursday 18 December 2014

Kingston's first student-run business incubator space, which is to be known as the Kingston Nest, has been launched at Kingston Business School.

The Kingston Nest is a place for students to hatch Kingston's next phase of businesses, offering a space on campus where students can work on their business ideas with close access to their study areas. The Kingston Nest will be able to offer students advice and help registering their businesses, and has a capacity for up to 25 students to use the space at any one time.

The Kingston Nest was declared officially open by Dennis Aguma, President of the Kingston Entrepreneurs Society, and Professor Ronald Tuninga, Pro-Vice Chancellor Enterprise and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law.

Students from the Kingston Entrepreneurs Society

Mr Aguma proclaimed the opening as "One small step for Kingston University, and one giant leap for Kingston Entrepreneurs." He continued, "now Kingston Entrepreneurs have a base from which to do what they do best: launch lots of businesses." For the last five years in a row, Kingston University has produced more graduate start-up companies than any other UK higher education institution.

Before cutting the ribbon to officially declare the Kingston Nest open, Professor Tuninga thanked the Kingston Entrepreneurs Society for helping so many of Kingston's students to realise their ambitions and stated that "the opening of the new Kingston Nest is just the start of a bigger project, and I hope to be able to give the incubator even more space in the future."

Professor Tuninga also announced the launch of a Kingston Entrepreneurs 'Brick Fund' to provide students with financial support with some of their business start-up costs.

The University's head of entrepreneurship education, Dr Martha Mador, was in attendance for the opening and reiterated Kingston's commitment to equipping its graduates with the confidence to try enterprise at an early stage in their careers.

In 2012/13 Kingston University helped business-minded alumni get 270 companies off the ground, and it is hoped that the Kingston Nest will help Kingston students start many more.

Categories: Enterprise and business, On campus, Research, Students