22 November 2024

Launching the Ufi Ventures Challenge Fund

Investing in early-stage businesses supporting skills for an economy in transition.

The UK’s labour market has undergone major changes over recent years, impacting the country’s ability to deliver the skills it needs. Complex barriers to learning have resulted in too few people gaining new skills, leaving those with historically lower qualifications or furthest from learning behind.

At the same time, the economy is rapidly changing due to digitisation, automation, and decarbonisation. To meet the evolving needs of the workforce, we must invest in digital solutions that can scale within the UK and provide the skills required by our economy in transition.

That’s why Ufi is proud to launch the Ufi Ventures Challenge Fund – a new pool of investment capital designed to support early-stage companies using vocational technology to make a positive and scalable impact on skills development for the transitioning economy. The fund is in addition to our core Ventures fund, which we continue to manage and support.

Investment starts at £250k, with the capacity to invest up to a further £1m in follow-on funding.

All portfolio businesses will access and benefit from Ufi’s unique network and resources. We are specifically looking for businesses that have a product already in the market, with early signs of adoption at scale and solid plans in place for growth.

Fabrio: Learner using CAD learning platform

Ufi portfolio company Fabrio teaching Computer Aided Design (CAD) through a range of interactive learning modules aimed at reducing teacher intervention and promoting independent learning.

The new Ufi Ventures Challenge Fund is focused on supporting early-stage companies developing EdTech solutions in five key areas:

  1. New economy skills development
  2. Digital transformation & Industry 4.0
  3. Reskilling and upskilling in traditional industries
  4. Inclusive skills development
  5. Future of work and lifelong learning

Graphic with the 5 key areas of investment.

Explore the five focus areas of the Ufi Ventures Challenge Fund.

We are interested in hearing from companies that can demonstrate:

  • Significant impact potential – a clear ability to transform the skills landscape and improve employability outcomes.
  • Adoption at scale – solutions that are already revenue-generating and can be deployed within the UK.
  • Innovation in technology or model of delivery – cutting-edge approaches to skills development.
  • Passionate founder teams – experienced and committed teams with a proven track record.
  • Show an appropriate commercial upside – a scalable business model and strong market potential.

You can explore our investment criteria in more detail here.

If your early-stage company is using vocational technology to drive the future of skills development, please get in touch.

Send your pitch deck to the Ufi Ventures team. We aim to respond within five working days.

Part of the VocTech Challenge: Skills for an Economy in Transition

The Ufi Ventures Challenge Fund is one of the six workstreams resulting from our VocTech Challenge: Skills for an Economy in Transition, a multi-year programme of funding and work to get adults learning delivered in partnership with Learning and Work Institute.

The fund is informed by our Green and White Papers, our Strategic Partnerships, and the insights from our ongoing placed-based collaborations across UK.

Explore the VocTech challenge