Shalini Khemka urges emerging tech clusters to emulate London's success strategy

London’s Tech Super‑Star: The Journey That Spurred the UK’s Digital Dream

Forbes just crowned London as the most influential city on the planet. Pop quiz: who’s the secret sauce behind that title? Meet Tech City – the crown jewel of the capital’s tech renaissance.

From £50 million Re‑Design to a £12 billion Economy

What began as a hefty £50 m facelift of Silicon Roundabout turned the whole precinct into a buzzing tech hotspot. Oxford Economics’ July study predicts that the cluster will churn out a staggering £12 billion of economic activity over the next decade.

Regional Rumble: The Call to Action

Lord Sainsbury’s Centre for Cities report paints a different picture: over 25 emerging clusters spread across the likes of Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, and Cardiff are at risk of being sidelined. He says the Government must:

Open doors for skilled talent
Give them a brand identity
Plug them into a wider tech network

What London Did Right (and What Everywhere Else Needs to Copy)

London’s rise wasn’t overnight – it was a cocktail of:

Recruiting top talent
Building a fierce brand
Creating an ecosystem that talks, shares, and grows together

To compete against giants like Silicon Valley, Cambridge, or Shenzhen, regional hubs must learn the London playbook. Only then can a “Silicon Britain” really take shape.

The University Connection: The Secret Sauce of Success

Tech City’s relationship with Imperial, City University, and UCL is a prime example of the power of university partnerships. The universities feed a steady stream of world‑class graduates and keep research budgets humming. The Oxford and Cambridge clusters show that keeping those ties tight pays dividends – the Cambridge cluster now hosts 1,500+ tech firms, with one in five graduates landing a job in Silicon Fen.

Local Universities Not Screaming For Help

In contrast, hubs in Newcastle, Sheffield, and Manchester have almost no official university links. As a result, bright minds often drift away to London, leaving behind a talent vacuum. The remedy? Cities need to partner up with local universities and tap into their knowledge mines.

Branding: The Super‑Power Under‑Utilised by Regional Hubs

The biggest choke‑point for the region is a lack of branding. When workers, founders, and investors notice – or fail to notice – a tech cluster, the whole ecosystem misfires.

Use London’s 2010 launch as case study: the Tech City brand turned a modest cluster into a global magnet, pulling in heavyweights like Facebook, Amazon, and Google. It leveraged a government‑led publicity blitz and digitalise the Old Street roundabout. That brand elevation lifted the entire area to new heights.

Doing the Same, But for the Regions

Create a strong, relatable identity that resonates both nationally and internationally.
Partner with government bodies to harness the UK Trade and Investment Authority’s channels.
Showcase real success stories from local entrepreneurs.

Building a Web of Connections: Beyond Borders

Tech City’s advantages aren’t just local – it synergy has built links across the UK, the US, and beyond. The cluster now talks to Silicon Valley, deepening the global dialogue of ideas, talent, and investment.

Regional clusters must follow suit. The upcoming Trans Pennine railway plans, like HS3, will cut travel times and encourage inter-city chitchat. Local hubs must:

Enhance inter-connectivity.
Invite international participation.
Develop joint projects (think “One North” initiatives).

This is Where the UK Stands

Local governments and Westminster have a starring role in steering regional clusters toward prosperity. But when start‑ups across the country rally together, they’ll not only grow themselves but also support London, paving the way for a new era of digital connectivity.

Meet Shalini Khemka – The Queen of Entrepreneur Voice

Shalini Khemka, founder and CEO of E2Exchange, is a fire‑watching entrepreneur who gave a voice to entrepreneurs nationwide. A former senior director at Deutsche Bank Securities, she co‑founded the first online bank trade finance company – a financial niche that they later sold.

She then served as Investment Director at LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, and now keeps a close partnership with LDC through its headline sponsorship of E2Exchange.

With her experience and passion, Shalini is turning the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape into a lively and profitable community—one that follows the London playbook but stays true to regional roots.