Bethnal Green Ventures

Check eligibility first

• The company must be incorporated in the UK, or will be. It must be a for-profit company limited by shares. BGV cannot invest in community interest companies.
• Founders must have the right to work in the UK. BGV is no longer an endorsing body for the UK Startup or Innovator visa schemes.
• Solo applicants can apply, but BGV says it is more likely to invest in a team.
• Expect a commitment of about 8-10 hours a week, spread across two or three days.

Choosing the right route

• The Tech For Good Programme is the route for new ventures.
• The Follow-on Fund and The BGV Platform have no separate application stated. They are for portfolio companies.
• The J-Star X UK Impact Accelerator was aimed at Japanese startups, and its applications have closed.

How applications work

• Apply through the application page on BGV's website. Applications for the autumn 2026 intake are closed.
• You can get in touch to talk about your venture before applying. No warm introduction is needed.

How selection works

• BGV selects 10-15 companies twice a year.
• BGV says its average acceptance rate is about 3-4%.
• BGV says over 70% of applicants already have at least a prototype or MVP.
• Its pages describe the accepted stage in two different ways, so ask the team if you are unsure whether you fit.

What reviewers look for

• Ambitious founders using technology to tackle big social or environmental problems.
• The potential to positively impact millions of lives, and to scale within 8 to 10 years.

Bethnal Green Ventures (BGV) is an early-stage venture capital investor based in London. It backs technology companies working on social and environmental problems, and its main programme, the Tech For Good Programme, is a six-week accelerator that takes equity in the companies it selects. BGV is operated by BGV Investment Management Ltd.

How programmes work

BGV's open programme is the Tech For Good Programme. It runs twice a year and selects 10-15 companies each time. It is a six-week hybrid course, delivered online and from BGV's offices in London, and it is followed by six more weeks of coaching and mentoring. BGV invests in each selected company and takes equity in return. BGV announced 12 companies in its autumn 2026 intake, and applications for that intake are closed. Founders can get in touch to talk about a venture before applying, with no warm introduction needed.

BGV also runs the Follow-on Fund, which invests further in its most promising portfolio companies, and The BGV Platform, which gives portfolio ventures ongoing resources, partner discounts, investor talks and events. Both are for portfolio companies only.

BGV also delivers the J-Star X UK Impact Accelerator with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). It is aimed at Japanese startups, and its applications closed on 31 August 2026.

Who can apply

For the Tech For Good Programme, the company must be incorporated in the UK, or will be, and it must be a for-profit company limited by shares. BGV cannot invest in community interest companies. Founders must have the right to work in the UK. Solo applicants are accepted, but BGV says it is more likely to invest in a team. BGV says it looks for ambitious founders using technology to tackle big social and environmental problems, with the potential to positively impact millions of lives. BGV is no longer an endorsing body for the UK Startup and Innovator visa schemes.

BGV's pages describe the stage it accepts in two different ways. Its programme copy describes prototype-stage ventures, while its application guidance says accepted ventures range from pre-product to companies with paying customers or pilots.

Scale

These are BGV's own figures. Its pages give different counts of the ventures it has invested in: 197 on its about page, over 200 in the text of its portfolio page, and 209 in that page's title, so no single total is given here. At the end of 2025 it reported more than 90 active portfolio companies and 10 successful exits. It says 34% of its portfolio companies believe their venture exists today because of BGV. It reports lives positively impacted through its portfolio products in the tens of millions, though its pages give different totals.

BGV's community includes a private portfolio Slack of more than 200 tech for good founders, a mentor network, investor mentoring sessions and regular community events. For the autumn 2026 intake, 40% of founders identify as women.

Locations

BGV's registered address is Techspace, 140 Goswell Road, London EC1V 7DY. The Tech For Good Programme runs online and from BGV's offices in London.

Who runs it

BGV Investment Management Ltd operates BGV. It is an appointed representative of Midmar Capital LLP, which the Financial Conduct Authority authorises and regulates for UK investment advisory and arranging activities. BGV describes itself as an early-stage VC. It says it officially launched in 2012, and that its story began in 2008 running Social Innovation Camps. It says it became the first VC in the UK to become a B Corp, in 2015. It has also committed to the Investing in Women Code, which aims to improve female entrepreneurs' access to tools, resources and finance.