Calling all London innovators!

We are looking for innovative SMEs that can help solve London’s most pressing challenges in six key areas of Health/Wellbeing, Social Care, Transport, Environment, Energy and Housing.

Introducing Open London

Open London is a programme designed to support SMEs in developing solutions in these challenge areas.

Through a series of workshops, wrap-around specialist support and peer-to-peer learning, Open London will support 25 businesses through an Accelerator Programme in bringing new and improved products and/or services to market. In addition, it will help SMEs gain insights into the key challenges public and private organisations face in London.

The Accelerator Programme will enhance participants’ collaboration and partnership skills, enabling them to explore opportunities to bring their solutions to market. By applying to join Open London, you could be one of the 25 SMEs selected to join this exciting programme.

Please note that applications for the Accelerator Programme will be assessed on an ongoing basis,
so early application is encouraged.

Apply now

Applications will close at 12 noon on Monday 21 July 2025.

Places are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, so we highly recommend applying quickly to secure your place.

Important application information

The online application must be completed and submitted in a single session - you cannot save your answers and return later to finish your application. To facilitate the process, we have created a Word document including all the application questions, which you can download and pre-populate with your answers. You can then copy and paste these answers into the online form and submit your application.

To download the Word application form, please click here.

What are the benefits of participating?

By participating in Open London, you will have the opportunity to:

Compete for a £4k grant

Get support for the onward costs of taking your innovative product or service to market

Take your innovative solutions to market

Advance through an Accelerator Programme to tackle pressing challenges and enhance the quality of life for London residents

Receive ongoing expert support

Advice from our experienced Innovation Advisers to reinforce learnings and achieve your growth ambitions

Is your business eligible and suitable?

The Accelerator Programme requires full participation in the workshops by a senior business leader. To be eligible to join the programme, your business must:

Be based in London
Be registered in the UK
Meet the SME criteria according to the European SME definition

Be an innovative SME with a potential solution to solve one of the relevant challenges
Be willing to learn and to challenge yourself and others

What to expect from the Accelerator Programme?

The Accelerator Programme will be delivered across a period of two months by experts
over six workshop sessions as outlined below:

Workshop One

Workshop Two

Workshop Three

Workshop Four

Workshop Five

Workshop Six

Tuesday 9 September 2025

Tuesday 16 September 2025

Tuesday 23 September 2025

Tuesday 7 October 2025

Tuesday 14 October 2025

Tuesday 21 October 2025

Route to Market and Collaboration

Relationship Building

Go To Market

Effective Communication

Tenders and Proposals

Deal Making

Successful companies will be invited to present their idea to our panel of experts on either

Tuesday 4 November 2025 or Wednesday 5 November 2025

The workshops will be held in-person at a Central London location and should be attended by one member of your senior team. In addition, SMEs will be allocated an Innovation Adviser and will be expected to engage with them regularly. More than one member of your team can participate in these advisory sessions.

How will the selection criteria process work?

Applications for a place on the Accelerator Programme will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

Team - is your team qualified to deliver the solution?
Innovation - is your solution innovative and does it align with at least one of the six challenge areas?
Approach - are you open to collaborations and partnerships?
Ambition and suitability - will Open London complement your business growth objectives?
Customer focus - does your solution meet the needs of the customer?

Meet our Innovation Advisers

Our dedicated Innovation Advisers bring together decades of experience and provide expert guidance to ambitious businesses looking to achieve their goals. Recognising that each business is unique, we are committed to tailoring strategies to meet the specific needs and aspirations of each business.

With a deep understanding of a wide range of industry sectors, we empower businesses to set clear objectives and navigate the challenges you may face along the journey.

Abrar Jawaid

Abrar (Abs) leads a team supporting SMEs with innovation, specialising in renewable energy start-ups and consultancy.

Read more >>

Polly Robbins

Prior to joining Newable, Polly spent 12 years managing micro businesses, establishing strategic partnerships with local authorities. Read more >>

Raj Tandon

Raj began his career in advertising, working with well-known brands such as Boots, Tetley, McDonald's and Safeway.Read more >>

Temi Koleowo

Temi is an accomplished innovation strategist with over 20 years of experience in business support and strategic management. Read more >>

Veronica Munoz de Andrea

Veronica is an experienced adviser with a global perspective who has established key partnerships with banks and VCs.
Read more >>

Jeremy Swinnerton

Jeremy brings over four years of experience in business support, focusing on innovation and finance for early-stage companies. Read more >>

Stephen Begg

Stephen has held advisory and management roles in four networks of small and professional businesses.
Read more >>

Daren Williams

Daren has 20 years of experience managing multi-million-pound contracts for major corporations like Refinitiv and Thomson Reuters. Read more >>

Apply now

Applications will close at 12 noon on Monday 21 July 2025.

Places are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis, so we highly recommend applying quickly to secure your place.

Important application information

To download the Word application form, please click here.

What programme participants have said

Read stories from SMEs that have previously participated in the Accelerator Programme.

“The Open London project has provided a fantastic opportunity to work with the advisers and wider team. We are incredibly proud to be a success within the first cohort of the Open London Accelerator programme.”

Gerard Pambu, CEO of KEYS

“The extensive support from Newable and the Open London Accelerator programme has been crucial. It has influenced our approach to establishing evidence and credibility, conducting market and customer research, and articulating clear values and unique selling points. It helped us to get closer to UK and London markets and expand into international markets.”

Igor Diev, CEO of Autentik AI

“We are putting the experience to good use by strengthening the fundamentals of our business in a sustainable way, ensuring it is also scalable to meet future opportunities. This transformation has enabled us to move forward with confidence and gain a clearer understanding of how to build an efficient and viable business.”

Mary Noel, Co-founder of The Wholeness Pod

“The grant was very welcome and has resulted in much needed software that has helped with product/solution refinement. Also, knowledge and skills have been acquired”

Alain Alban, Founder of Isometric Outcomes

“The Open London programme gave us a confidence in selling, not just our new WebVR product, but all of our services across the business. In addition, we've really put into practice flexing our offering according to the audience, learning what to dial up and dial down, which has opened up many more conversations.”

Kyle Grace, Owner and Creative Director of Graceful Monkey

“It was brilliant to have the opportunity to explore partnerships in a new way. The Open London programme opened doors to exciting new collaborations.”

Dr Natalie A. Russell, Founder of Nu Know

“We have taken insights from the Open London Accelerator programme and transformed them into real-world projects beyond the UK. We are expanding internationally and are gaining traction in markets that are eager to invest in real solutions rather than just engage in pilot discussions.”

Rohith Varma, Founder or TRC City

Frequently asked questions

What stage should my product or service be at?

How does the programme involve institutional stakeholders?

How have the key challenges been decided?

How many members of our team can participate in Open London? 

What do we mean by collaboration?

What do we mean by partnership?

Will the support be delivered by experts with knowledge and experience of the sector that I work in?

Contact us

Do you want to find out more about Open London?

Open London is supported by the Mayor of London and delivered by Newable on behalf of the Greater London Authority.

Open London is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Government’s Autumn Budget announced a further £900 million of funding for local investment by March 2026. The fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, investing in communities and place, supporting local business, people and skills. For more information, visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus.