eBusiness UK founder to drive digital growth in Lancashire

Kam Kothia, founder of eBusiness UK and sister company Time2 Technology, has been appointed to the board of directors at the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and will play a key role in driving the county’s digital agenda forward.

As the chair of the LEP’s Digital Sector Group he will help position Lancashire as a national and international leader in the application of emerging advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things (IOT), Extended Reality, Autonomous Machines and 5G.

Supported by a team of experienced veterans from industry and academia, he will lead a programme designed to increase the number of tech start-ups in the county, as well as supporting scale-up businesses. The group will also work to create a dynamic ecosystem to see greater engagement between larger companies, academic institutions, public sector bodies and small and new-start firms to drive innovation, growth, social value and attract greater inward investment.

Organisations who are not strictly tech-focused will also benefit by implementing digital technologies to transform their working practices to drive up productivity and open up new potential for their products and services. Digital innovations such as smart manufacturing, remote personalised healthcare, autonomous transportation and immersive virtual experiences will not only transform our economy, but will continue to change the way we live, work and play.

Kam will draw on decades of tech industry experience. Before co-founding eBusiness UK in 1998, he graduated with a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, joined Plessey Telecommunications as a product manager and quickly progressed into International Sales working on multi-million pound public telecommunications equipment contracts in ‘exotic’ parts of Africa and Asia.

After leaving Plessey, he joined Preston-based Telewest Communications to set up its North West Business Services Division, which grew to more than £10m turnover in less than five years.

Kam said: “My ambition is to see Lancashire leapfrog to the forefront of the digital sector. My role within the LEP will be to bring together all of the county’s most important stakeholders to develop and implement a coherent, coordinated strategy with this as its core focus.”

“There is no doubt that Lancashire has the talent and the potential, and through the Digital Sector Group we will be able to build on the existing strengths for the benefit of all the county’s businesses and residents. I feel honoured to be able to give back to the sector which has supported my own businesses, and I am excited to be here at the very start of journey which has unlimited potential.”

Kam is also chair of Star Academies Trust, which operates a network of over 30 primary and secondary schools in Lancashire, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Midlands and London, including some of the highest performing schools in the country.

He also serves on the boards of the Falcon Education Academies Trust and the Duke of Lancaster Regiment of the British Army, and is a Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire.