By Max Clarke
East London’s growing ‘Tech City’ today welcomed its latest expansion after mobile services provider, Buongiorno, announced plans to boost its workforce by 50%.
“The UK is attracting strong investment from cutting-edge technology entrepreneurs and Buongiorno have led the way, having first located in Shoreditch around two
years ago,” commented Universities and Science Minister David Willetts.
Announced by then Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron in a speech in 2008, Tech City referred to an area of East London centred around Shoreditch. Then home to just 15 new businesses, the area seemed an unlikely choice for the creation of the UK’s tech hub. 3 years on, however, more than 200 businesses operate in what has been referred to as Silicone Roundabout .
“Buongiorno UK moved to Shoreditch over two years ago,” said the company’s CEO, Andrea Casalini, “as we believed in the potential of the area — at the heart of what’s new, exciting and growing when it comes to digital media. We intend to make our Shoreditch office our hub of global innovation and new business, as we really see the growth potential of our business in London, and specifically Shoreditch, because research and development is paramount to our mobile internet business.
UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has formed the Tech City Investment Organisation, led by top technology entrepreneurs, to help boost investment and growth in Tech City.
The UK’s ICT sector is one of the most vibrant in the world, employing more than a million people and contributing more than £66.4bn to the UK economy. The creation of one of the Coalition government’s Technology and Innovation centres in the area will likely see investment in the rapidly growing companies increase, further boosting the economy of the important centre.
