Sister and Dublin Incubator Signed Partnership Agreement
The 12-month deal aims to reduce barriers for startups scaling between Manchester and Dublin.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Startups
Live Poll
Do you believe international collaboration between business hubs benefits local startups in your area?
Manchester innovation district Sister and Dublin-based Guinness Enterprise Centre have entered a 12-month memorandum of understanding. The partnership provides startups at both locations with reciprocal workspace access and shared market entry support.
Why it matters
This agreement seeks to accelerate international growth for early-stage companies by lowering cross-border entry barriers. It follows a recent trend of formalizing startup corridors between the UK and Ireland.
The Guinness Enterprise Centre has supported over 1,500 startups over 25 years, while the £1.7 billion Sister innovation district has backed more than 80 startups since its 2024 launch. The deal leverages these hubs to bridge the £2 billion Manchester-Dublin trade corridor.
The players
Sister
A £1.7 billion innovation district based in Manchester that provides specialized support and infrastructure for early-stage companies.
Guinness Enterprise Centre
A Dublin-based incubation hub with a 25-year history of supporting over 1,500 startups through workspace and market access programs.
Platform94
A Galway-based innovation center that provides scaling support for technology companies.
The details
The collaboration functions by granting startups free, short-term workspace at both the Sister site in Manchester and the Guinness Enterprise Centre in Dublin. By facilitating knowledge-sharing through cross-border networking events, the pact allows founders to leverage existing institutional infrastructure to navigate foreign markets. This follows Sister's earlier 2026 partnership with Galway-based Platform94, continuing the district's strategy of establishing localized innovation beachheads.
Timeline
2024: Sister innovation district launched.
2025: The Liverpool City Region and Greater Manchester Trade Mission occurred.
September 2026: Sister and Guinness Enterprise Centre signed the agreement.
Next 12 months: Duration of the Memorandum of Understanding.
The Tech Race
This partnership formalizes institutional links between Manchester and Dublin to capture startup traffic within the £2 billion trade corridor. It follows the recent expansion model seen with the 2026 Platform94 deal in Galway, signaling a strategy of clustering innovation districts to compete for international capital.
Startups operating within the Sister or Guinness Enterprise Centre ecosystems gain immediate access to short-term workspace and professional networks in a new geographic market. Founders can utilize these resources over the next 12 months to conduct market testing and outreach without the overhead of permanent international office leases.
The takeaway
This pact marks a shift toward standardized cross-border support for European startups navigating post-launch scaling. Interested founders should track upcoming joint networking events scheduled throughout the 12-month agreement period to leverage the reciprocal access benefits.
Further reading
Learn more about how these hubs are scaling ventures in the Startups section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Prolific North.
Live Poll
Do you believe international collaboration between business hubs benefits local startups in your area?
