Eagle has landed at Digital Greenhouse

Tuesday 03 July 2018

Barclay's Eagle Labs launched in Guernsey at the end of last week, making it the newest of the bank's community labs around the country.

The Eagle Labs programme is designed to act as a community support centre, with tools at its disposal to assist start up businesses and mentor entrepreneurs.

Guernsey's lab is the sixteenth in the UK, and there are plans for a further two by the end of the year.

"The focus for this is to up skill and assist businesses with a range of digital tools and technology, by teaming up with the Eagle Labs we are able to connect with all of the other labs around the UK and pool our resources," Lucy Witham, Head of Digital at Economic Development, said.

"If someone were to come forward looking for help tomorrow, we could offer them mentorship and advice on how to start up a business, and the next steps they need to take if they are not new.

"They can also get one to one support from experts and total access to the wider network of the Eagle Labs."

Friday saw the senior stakeholders at the Digital Greenhouse - where the Lab is being hosted - meeting for a launch lunch.

Pictured: Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, Economic Development.

There were representatives from the States of Guernsey, industry bodies and also Barclays.

Gez Overstall, the Ecosystem Manager for Barclays, said: "The big thing for Barclays with this is that we are big supporters of the Digital Greenhouse, and we wanted to get behind that concept - this was a perfect opportunity to help boost it with our Eagle Labs.

"We see a number of opportunities as to where this could lead, not only with a network of business people connected through the Lab, but also the potential to really improve the overall business ecosystem on Guernsey."

The Eagle Lab in Jersey will see more than 150 business, networking and community events planned for this year. Guernsey's will be emulating to do just that.