Opening Address - UMi and Entrepreneurial Spark

Join us for the opening welcome address featuring Nicki Clark OBE, CEO and co-founder of UMi and Mike Stephens, CEO, Entrepreneurial Spark. Gain insights into supporting SMEs in accessing opportunities across sectors and learn about the region's commitment to fostering a vibrant ecosystem where small and medium enterprises can thrive. Nicki will set the tone for an engaging session dedicated to unlocking opportunities and driving sustainable growth for SMEs.

Speaker Information

Nicki has experience of working across numerous sectors – she’s been involved with many different cultures and ways of doing business, which made her a perfect co founder and CEO of UMi. By her own admission there hasn’t been a grand plan or route map to Nicki’s career it’s been more of an adventure, with some help from great people and a little bit of luck thrown in.

She started out in banking, travelled the world selling soft drinks or posh pop as she likes to describe it, has set up businesses and social enterprises and worked closely with both the public and private sector. So you could say she knows a thing or two about helpling businesses go further.   Nicki believes passionately that businesses have the power to make a difference to lives and the world around us, so she’s made sure that UMi measures success by more than just its financial health but also by the positive impact we have on the people and environments we touch, evidenced by UMi’s own BCorp certification. She is an active Volunteer, Director, Trustee, was awarded an OBE in June 2022 for services to Business and Social Enterprise in the North of England, and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Mike is the CEO of Entrepreneurial Spark, one of the longest established accelerators in the UK. He has a deeply-held belief in the power of creativity and curiosity to change the world, hence his love of working with entrepreneurs. He sees the limitless possibilities in people and businesses and is always working on something new, with an infectious imagination and a constant desire to do better. Mike joined Entrepreneurial Spark in 2015 after 12 years in banking, specialising in growth finance for SMEs. He re-founded the business after an exit, and has owned and led ES since 2018, walking the founder’s journey along with the entrepreneurs the accelerator supports. As well as having raised investment himself, Mike has supported and enabled fundraising of over £100m across debt and equity transactions.