IN4 Group operates HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology, on behalf of Salford City Council. Based in the heart of MediaCity, HOST is one of the North West’s most established innovation hubs.
In partnership with Salford City Council, HOST has played a major role in establishing Greater Manchester as a leading digital city region and has had a significant impact on the people it has directly supported through its hub and programmes.
The partnership has delivered over £4m of social value back into the community, equating to a return of £5.08 of social impact into the Salford regional economy for every £1 invested by IN4 Group in services and support.
HOST offers four floors of innovation services, training and facilities including the UK’s first Multi-access Edge Compute (MEC) lab with Vodafone, immersive and IoT labs and a state-of-the-art Gametech Campus with dedicated spaces for esports tournaments, training, education, broadcasting and live streaming. The first UK Unity Centre of Excellence was established at HOST, where it also provides affordable workspaces, training and social spaces for people to start up, scale up and connect.
HOST offers networking events and support for people and businesses alike, from start-ups and SMEs through to enterprises and the public sector. This includes the pioneering FreelanceHER 100 accelerator programme which over 2 years, has supported 193 creative digital female founders from Greater Manchester to grow and scale their businesses. While the HOST 50 accelerator programme supports 50 founders over 12 weeks with weekly workshops, mentoring and community events to accelerate the growth of their enterprises.
HOST has established a community with a unique environment for businesses to learn, grow and succeed. With a combination of Skills Bootcamps, innovation services and start up accelerator programmes all under one roof, HOST works with partners and members from across a wide range of industries.
