Venture Treks
Interested in growing your business outside of the UK? Ready to explore the investment landscape in another region? Apply to join a Venture Trek and open a world of opportunities for your startup.
What’s a Venture Trek?
Unlock a world of opportunity for your startup on an international trip to a global startup hub.
As part of our commitment to supporting our community to explore and grow in new markets, we’ll be selecting a series of Imperial founders to accompany us to global locations in 2026, and we’ll put together a series of meetings and events to help you make the most of the visit.
Before, during and after the trip, we will be posting on social media and sharing press releases that will profile your company. We will also provide training on how to make the most of the trip, with founders who have been on previous Venture Treks sharing their insights.
Imperial Enterprise Lab will cover your hotel, visa costs and contribute towards your flights. We will also cover any group travel and Imperial organised activities while we are there.
You can read all about previous Venture Treks and Imperial Global hubs here:
To join us on an upcoming trek, you must be available for the dates listed and submit your application no later than Sunday 26 July 2026.
Who are they for?
Venture Treks are specifically for Imperial founders (staff, student or alumni) who have proof of concept or an MVP and sufficient evidence of traction. You must also have clear motivations to attend the trip, for example, you wish to launch in that market or seek investment opportunities.
Imperial will fund one representative from your startup to attend. That representative must have an Imperial connection (student, alumnus, staff), other members of your team are able to attend, but they will need to be self-funded.
You should have proof of concept or an MVP and sufficient evidence of traction and clear motivations to attend the trip (i.e. you wish to launch in that market or seek investment opportunities).
You must be willing to take part in publicity before, during and after the trip, and to give us feedback about your experience.
You must be willing to join a WhatsApp group for ease of logistics
You must be willing to pitch your startup at an ICL event and provide all materials in advance of the visit in the required formats.
Venture Treks 2026
Take a look at upcoming Venture Trek opportunities below:
San Francisco, USA
Sunday 4 October – Friday 9 October 2026
As part of our commitment to supporting our community to explore and grow in new markets, forge international connections and tap into new channels of investment, we’ll be selecting 5 Imperial founders to accompany us to San Francisco and the Bay Area in October 2026. Alongside a schedule of meetings organised by us, it’s San Francisco Tech Week, so you will also be able to take advantage of the events and activities happening that week.
In 2024 the college launched Imperial Global USA, with a hub based out of Shack15 in the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Read more about the hub here: Imperial launches US hub with pledge to create 100 US-UK tech partnerships.
We are seeking startups operating in DeepTech.
Tokyo, Japan
Sunday 4 October – Friday 9 October 2026
Timed to coincide with BioJapan 2026 – Asia’s leading biotechnology partnering event, this trek is designed to give founders exposure to Japan’s dynamic life sciences and innovation ecosystem, with entry to BioJapan enabling access to global industry leaders, investors, and structured partnering opportunities. Alongside BioJapan, the trek will include curated meetings and engagement with key ecosystem stakeholders, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
A highlight of the week will be a joint session between WE Innovate and WE AT (Women Entrepreneurs Asia Tokyo), bringing together founders from both programmes.
We are seeking female founders who have participated in one of the following programmes: WE Innovate, WE Accelerate or Althea, and are leading a startup across Medtech, Healthtech, Biotech or the Life Sciences space.
Apply
If you would like to be considered for a place for San Francisco or Tokyo please complete the application form by 11.59pm Sunday 26 July, 2026.
Applications recieved after the deadline will not be reviewed. We aim to communicate to sucessful applicants during the week commencing 3rd August.
Previous Venture Treks
See below, information about out previous Treks and keep your eyes peeled for future opportunities:
Bengaluru, India
Sunday 18 May – Friday 23rd 2025
Read about the Bengaluru Venture Trek here.
We took five Imperial ventures to explore the dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bengaluru, often referred to as the “Silicon Valley of India”. We met with founders from prestigious institutions, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) and explored entrepreneurial hubs and discovered the vibrant energy of Bengaluru’s startup scene firsthand.
Accra, Ghana
Sunday 14 July – Saturday 20 July 2024
Read about he Ghana Venture Trek here.
We took five Imperial ventures to explore the thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in Accra, meet founders from the University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Cape Coast, visit entrepreneurial hubs and explore what Ghana has to offer!
Singapore
Sunday 28th July – Friday 2nd August 2024
Read about the Singapore Venture Trek here.
Five Imperial ventures with a focus on AI joined us in Singapore to explore the vibrant ecosystem and numerous opportunities for growth and innovation. Singapore serves as a gateway to Southeast Asia, offering access to a diverse market of over 600 million people. With its robust infrastructure, supportive government policies, and well-established startup ecosystem, Singapore provides an ideal environment for entrepreneurs to network, access funding, and collaborate with like-minded individuals and organisations.
New York City, USA
Monday 23 September – Friday 27 September 2024
Read about the New York Venture Trek here.
We flew five Imperial ventures out to New york for Climate Week, where we hosted an event welcoming guests from all over the world as part of the UN General Assembly and Climate Week. With access to top-tier accelerators like Techstars and Climate Tech to proximity to leading universities and research institutions, founders were able to tap into a wealth of resources to drive their ventures forward.
San Francisco, USA
Sunday 27 October – Friday 1 November 2024
Read about the San Francisco Venture Trek here.
As part of a suite of activities celebrating 10 years of WE Innovate, our programme for women led teams, we invited five female founders to join us on this exciting trip to launch Imperial’s new Global Hub in San Francisco.