A Leicester based entrepreneur has been featured in the first ever report by Tech Nation into the global tech talent in the UK.

Ashraf Attia, originally from Egypt, has been highlighted in the Tech Nation Visa Report as an example of exceptional talent coming from outside of the UK.

The Tech Nation Visa enables people to work in the UK’s digital technology sector. Over the last two years, the visa has received over 1,975 applications, and endorsed over 920 visas from over 90 countries worldwide.

Here’s some of the report’s it’s key findings:

  • Demand for a Tech Nation visa has grown by almost 50% in the past two consecutive  years
  • According to internet search data from SEMrush, the volume of users in the UK searching online for terms explicitly related to UK tech visas increased by over 3x from April to September 2020.
  • In 2020, 52% of those endorsed for the Tech Nation Global Talent Visa are employees at some of the UK’s leading tech firms,
  • 28% of those endorsed for a visa are tech founders
  • The visa has enabled 421 founders to set up business in the UK in 2020, up from 400 in 2019.

Ashraf Attia is the founder and CEO of Leicester based AI firm Predictiva. He said:

“The UK presents vast possibilities in my areas of interest, specifically around the adoption of ML and Blockchain in the industry, in alignment with the UK Government initiative “Factory of the Future”.

“I have started my tech startup (Predictiva) which focuses on developing advanced AI predictive analytics models.

“I also believe that the UK has excellent academic institutions, which will assist me in continuing my PhD in engineering”.