Cameron unveils plans for British Silicon Valley
DAVID Cameron will today unveil plans to turn the East End of London into a “British Silicon Valley”.
He will announce that Google, Facebook, Intel and McKinsey have committed to investing in the area, building on the budding hi-tech community that has sprung up in Old Street and Shoreditch.
The Prime Minister will say: “Right now, Silicon Valley is the leading place in the world for high-tech growth and innovation.
“But there’s no reason why it has to be so predominant. Our ambition is to bring together the creativity and energy of Shoreditch and the incredible possibilities of the Olympic Park to help make East London one of the world’s great technology centres.”
Cameron has spent recent weeks trying to convince tech firms to put down roots in East London, and says the response has been “overwhelming”.
As well as a £200m equity fund for hi-tech firms, announced at last week’s CBI conference, Cameron will unveil a new “entrepreneur visa” that will guarantee entry to foreign nationals that want to set up their tech firm in the UK.
And he will pledge to review Britain’s intellectual property and copyright laws, which are often criticised by foreign tech firms.