NatWest to support 50,000 UK entrepreneurs through Accelerator by 2026
NatWest has announced plans to dramatically expand its Accelerator community, with the aim of supporting 50,000 entrepreneurs across the UK by 2026 – a five-fold increase on its 2025 target.
The move follows an outstanding year for the program, where the bank supported around 12,000 founders. That number exceeds the total number of entrepreneurs the Accelerator has supported over the past ten years combined, highlighting the acceleration in both scale and impact.
The expansion is part of NatWest’s new five-point Growing Together programme, which outlines how the bank aims to support long-term UK growth. This strategy focuses on supporting the regional economy, fighting for mid-market businesses, strengthening infrastructure and housing, improving financial confidence among families and young people, and supporting entrepreneurs who create the economy of the future.
NatWest said it believes banks have a role to play beyond providing finance, using regional action, expertise and the power to bring together businesses, communities and policymakers to help remove structural barriers to growth and productivity across the UK.
At the heart of the expansion is the NatWest Accelerator community, built around peer networks, local clusters and access to expert advisors, investors and professional support. The program is designed to help start-up and high-growth businesses launch, scale and build resilience.
Data released by the bank shows the impact of the program on participating businesses. Companies that completed the Accelerator increased their profits by an average of 104 percent year over year, compared to 20 percent growth among the control group. In addition, nine out of ten Accelerator businesses were still trading three years later, compared to less than half in the control group.
Robert Begbie, CEO of Commercial & Institutional Banking at NatWest Group, said the growing demand reflects the bank’s confidence in the success of the scheme.
“We know that in order to build the economy of the future we need to support the founders who will give us strength,” he said. “Entrepreneurs are the driving force behind innovation, job creation and long-term economic growth across the UK. By raising our ambition for 2026, we are reinforcing our commitment to supporting innovators at every stage – from idea to scale – and helping them turn their ambitions into sustainable success.”
This responsibility has been accepted by the government and business groups. Small Business Minister Blair McDougall said the announcement shows the kind of support needed to unlock the potential of small businesses across the country, while Aaron Asadi, CEO of Enterprise Nation, described NatWest as unmatched among banks in supporting UK entrepreneurs.
Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, added that expanding the Accelerator will give more founders access to the advice and peer networks they need to grow with confidence.
As part of the expansion, NatWest will continue to grow its network of Accelerator hubs and on-campus university partnerships. The bank has established sites in collaboration with universities including Manchester, Oxford, York, Brighton and Warwick, and plans to set up sites in up to ten universities over the next three years.
The Accelerator also delivers a structured growth journey through a network of UK hubs and the NatWest Accelerator app, working in partnership with Google to provide access to digital tools, training and specialist expertise. Pitch events and founders’ forums held across the UK provide entrepreneurs with opportunities to showcase their businesses, build networks and access funding.
One business to benefit from the scheme is Leeds-based production company, Mood Films, which launched in 2024 after moving from a long-term consultancy into a creative partnership. After joining the NatWest Accelerator, founders gain access to an interactive environment, one-on-one coaching and workshops covering financing, sales, marketing and future planning.
Louis Jones, founder and director of photography at Mood Films, said the program helped the team go from filmmakers learning the basics of the business to confident creators with a clear understanding of scale.
“Joining the NatWest Accelerator was one of the best decisions we have ever made in our business,” he said. “The support has helped us to understand every area of the business and has given us hope to grow now and in the future.”
