Last night, we hosted a very special event at the stunning Hull Minster.
Over 270 people turned up to celebrate with us, as we launched our partnership with Barclays Eagle Labs.
If you missed out on a ticket, we've rounded up the evening below. But, don't worry, there's still plenty of time to get involved in this fantastic opportunity for the city and the digital community.
As the doors of the 700-year-old building opened, the talented Yasmin Coe welcomed attendees with her beautiful voice and acoustic guitar.
Soon after, everyone took to their seats to hear Dave Keel, C4DI Chair and Hull's Digital Ambassador, to introduce the evening and stress the incredible power digital has within our region.
"Hull is perfectly placed and structured for a wonderful digital future," he enthused.
"We have the connectivity, the community, the culture, the creativity and the confidence."
However, there has been one thing missing over the past five years since the inception of the C4DI.
"We need global financial mentorship. A truly global network and reach from one of the world's most renowned financial institutions."
And, this is where our relationship with Barclays comes in.
Steve Mullins, Barclays Community Banking Director, had a lot to say about our tight-knit digital hub:
"C4DI excites me because it shares the same DNA as Barclays Eagle Labs. It's about creating an ecosystem for innovation - helping traditional businesses innovate and tech companies to grow."
We then heard from our Managing Director John Connolly, as he spoke in more detail about the partnership and what it means for Hull's digital landscape.
"The partnership aims to build on three key areas of our existing work: fledgling businesses, high-growth scaleups and traditional organisations."
These three areas will be facilitated through mentoring, business support events, guidance on investment and finance, education sessions, ideation workshops, MVP (prototype) services.
We'll be making a follow-up announcement with specific details about the programme over the next couple of weeks.
A big part of this work starts with welcoming our new team member David Summerbell, Barclays Ecosystem Manager. We're delighted to be welcoming him to the building and looking forward to showing him the ins and outs of the C4DI community.
John's final few words: "From day zero, C4DI has been about this. We help tech companies grow and traditional businesses innovate. We believe the two are intrinsically linked, with both startups and traditional businesses tapping into each others' skills and experience. This partnership has the power to scale that up even more."
Please keep your eyes peeled for more updates on our partnership with Barclays Eagle labs. If you pop into the building, you'll see some immediate changes have been made with some brand spanking new signage.
Photography by Mark Kensett | Videography by Shoot J Moore | Blog by Courtney Farrow
