Community Innovation Hubs

Prototyping Community Innovation Hubs: Open University

Prototyping Community Innovation Hubs was a partnership project between MK Community Foundation, Alex Cole at TIN Ventures, and Open University academics Theo Zamenopoulos and Katerina Alexiou from the School of Engineering and Innovation, and Fidele Mutwarasibo at the Business School. Piloted in Milton Keynes, the Community Innovation Hubs sought to address significant barriers faced by ethnic minority businesses (EMBs), particularly Black and Asian collectives. The project provided business support and masterclasses in investment readiness, export scaling and digital transformation.

The project was funded by the Open University's Open Societal Challenges programme in 2024-2025.