Barclays has appointed Elissa Morris as ecosystem manager of its new Eagle Lab which will be open to the public later this month.

The Lab is opening in partnership with the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce and Department for Enterprise as part of the bank’s drive to help entrepreneurs and businesses to create, innovate and grow.

Ms Morris will be responsible for bringing together a network of entrepreneurs, start-ups and innovators, across various industries and the local community.

She will ensure that the Eagle Lab is a functional and supportive space for collaboration, co-working, developing ideas and nurturing creativity with support from Barclays and a wider community of organisations and mentors.

Ms Morris joins Barclays from the former Isle of Man Department of Economic Development [now the Department for Enterprise] where she spent three years as a business development manager, working with new and existing eGaming, e-business, digital media and ICT businesses and helping companies to relocate to the Isle of Man.

Simon Scott, country head for Barclays in the Isle of Man, said: ‘Elissa is an experienced and enthusiastic individual who is highly qualified to lead our new Eagle Lab and help build a collaborative network of entrepreneurs, start-ups, innovators and companies.

‘The Eagle Lab will play an important role in fostering innovation, driving local economic growth and digital empowerment in the local community and facilitating business success.

‘We’re very much looking forward to it opening later this month.’

The Eagle Lab will host a series of open days from Wednesday, June 13 to Saturday, June 16 so islanders can tour the new facility, meet the team and learn more about what the new Eagle Lab has to offer.

It will be open to everyone in the island and will offer a range of resources including co-working space, expert mentoring, training workshops, a fully-equipped ‘MakerSpace’ with 3D printers to support rapid prototype development, and private office space for scale up businesses.

The Isle of Man Lab builds on the bank’s network of 15 Eagle Labs operating in the British Isles. Located at Queen Victoria House, Douglas, the lab will offer 5,000 square feet of working space and will be available for use by individuals, local businesses, community groups and schools.