2013 news futurebusinesscentre cohen

Fundraising appeal for the Future Business Centre launches at Cambridge Judge Business School

27 March 2013

The article at a glance

Cambridge Judge Business School was delighted to welcome the pioneer of the social investment movement, Sir Ronald Cohen, to the School to …

Sir Ronald Cohen
Sir Ronald Cohen

Cambridge Judge Business School was delighted to welcome the pioneer of the social investment movement, Sir Ronald Cohen, to the School to launch the public fundraising campaign for the Future Business Centre. The Centre is Cambridge’s first purpose-built incubation centre to help social and environmental businesses start up and succeed.

The new 35,000 square foot Centre is currently being built and will be run by local social enterprise Future Business, offering affordable, high quality workspace on flexible terms with on-site specialist business advice and an ethos of collaboration and innovation. It will also be home to Cambridge Cleantech, who will be further supporting cleantech start-ups in the city.

At the event on 21 March 2013 organisations and individuals found out more about the Centre and how they can support it, and heard why Sir Ronald Cohen thinks the Future Business Centre will help set Cambridge apart. He said:

The Future Business Centre is a very important initiative – by bringing together in one location people of different skills who share the same interests, Future Business is building the first example of what is needed if we are to turn social entrepreneurship into a global force that is capable of making a dent in social issues. I would like to congratulate Future Business, and I wish the new Centre every success.”

Professor Jaideep Prabhu
Professor Jaideep Prabhu

Professor Jaideep Prabhu represented Cambridge Judge Business School on behalf of Professor Christoph Loch, endorsing the Future Business Centre and the importance of collaborative enterprise. Professor Prabhu explained how Cambridge Judge Business School and Future Business are working together on initiatives to encourage enterprise, which will include locating start-ups at the Future Business Centre that have come from the School’s Accelerate Cambridge programme.

Due to open its doors this autumn, Future Business is looking to the people of Cambridge to help fundraise a further £2.5m to avoid drawing on loan finance and to ensure the Centre gets off to a great start. Earlier that day a ‘topping out’ ceremony took place to mark the Centre reaching full height.

A fundraising ‘wall of support’ website was launched at the event, where individuals and organisations who make a donation can add their picture or logo to the wall to represent their contribution; the wall will then feature as part of the Centre’s public art installation.

© Photographs copyright by Alan Bennett/Media Imaging Solutions