Mo Isap wants to build tech communities where 鈥渁nyone can believe they belong鈥�.
The CEO of is delivering inclusive innovation from MediaCity UK, with real economic impact felt across the North West and beyond.听
The professional technology skills provider is the driving force behind innovation hub , based in the Greater Manchester digital media hub.听
Isap is reimagining what it means to build a tech community that鈥檚 truly inclusive and economically powerful 鈥� one that creates opportunities for everyone, not just the privileged few. And the results speak for themselves.
Recently, it was announced that IN4 Group had delivered 拢22.6m in social value in the last two years at HOST Salford, upskilling more than 5,820 people, supporting 392 businesses and creating 269 jobs.听
The initiatives were fuelled by investment from Salford City Council, including investment from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and operated by IN4 Group 鈥� but achieving this was no easy feat.
鈥淭ech hubs aren鈥檛 always as inclusive as they could be,鈥� Isap told 老九品茶Cloud. 鈥淲e build them and expect to flock to them like a kind of Noah鈥檚 Ark 鈥� but that鈥檚 rarely how it works.听
鈥�That’s why HOST Salford has been such a critical part of the equation. It creates a space where people genuinely feel they can belong 鈥� where they鈥檙e invited in, not just expected to show up.鈥�
From skills programmes and tech bootcamps to direct engagement with overlooked communities, IN4 Group has created a new model for regional growth 鈥� one that champions inclusivity as well as innovation.
Going to the people
At the core of Isap鈥檚 vision is the belief that technology must be taken to the people, not the other way around.
He explained: 鈥淚f you create technology or an innovation, you’ve got to go to the people.听
鈥淵ou’ve got to go to the places where those people are and work to ensure they understand what these opportunities can be for them, where they are, and how to access them.鈥�
This philosophy is reflected in IN4 Group鈥檚 Skills City programme, which has helped train and place thousands of individuals from diverse backgrounds into technology careers.听
Unlocking new talent
Isap believes organisations are missing a trick by looking in the same talent pool when they recruit. Raising aspirations, and bringing people to the tech centres, will unlock another pipeline that could solve skills gaps and provide the workers businesses need now and in the future.
鈥淚f you keep mining in the same place, you won鈥檛 find any more diamonds 鈥� eventually that mine is exhausted,鈥� he says.听
听鈥淏ut if you play the long game, you can refine and upskill people, enabling them to deliver real economic impact.
鈥淥ur regional blueprint makes a clear commitment to local government as a key partner: we will engage with all parts of your community to ensure fair access to opportunities in a tech-driven future.鈥澨�
It鈥檚 a message that is not merely philosophical, but also practical. IN4 Group has helped create 269 new jobs and safeguard 57 existing ones in the last two years alone.
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Demand as well as supply
A key challenge in growing the tech landscape isn鈥檛 just about training talent – it鈥檚 about ensuring there鈥檚 actual demand for the skills.听
He continued: 鈥淵ou can’t just refine the talent. If nobody’s willing to buy the talent, or if there’s no buyers in the market for those items, then there’s no point finding all that money and creating hope.
鈥淵ou’ve got to stimulate the demand in the industry, especially in the most disadvantaged, under-invested places.
鈥淵ou have to activate the demand so that the two can actually co-exist and become impactful.鈥�
This thinking underpins much of IN4 Group鈥檚 strategy 鈥� not just plugging skills gaps, but aligning training with real, growing markets.
Bricks and mortar SMEs
HOST Salford, fuelled by investment from Salford City Council, generated a 拢4.58 social return on investment (SROI) for every 拢1 invested between April 2023 and March 2025.
IN4 Group, which has played a major role in establishing Greater Manchester as a digital region, has upskilled more than 5,820 people, enabling them to go on to digital careers or set up their own businesses.听听
Over the past two years, the organisation has supported 392 businesses at HOST Salford with everything from offering affordable workspaces and accelerator schemes, to providing innovation labs to grow and develop new products.听听
For Isap, the foundation of a thriving tech community lies not just in partnering with traditional tech firms, but in empowering SMEs across all industries with the digital skills they need to progress.听
He said: 鈥淭here’s an entire community of bricks-and-mortar businesses doing amazing things.
鈥淚t’s bricks-and-mortar companies whom we support to do tech adoption, generative AI, productivity data.
鈥淭hey can then have that trajectory and scale. We have supported 392 bricks-and-mortar businesses in that way. That鈥檚 a real, tangible difference.鈥�
Making tech accessible – literally
For Isap, accessibility isn鈥檛 just about digital inclusion. It鈥檚 also physical.
He says there is real value for the community in bringing young people 鈥渨ho believe they need to buy a ticket鈥� to MediaCity UK from the surrounding areas, even those from Salford.听
IN4 Group is continuing to create physical, social and cultural bridges to help people from all walks of life step into the tech world with confidence.
Isap said: 鈥淲hen you make it possible for them, when you bring the skills, it breaks the barrier for these kids – even those who live in these underprivileged areas. And then you bring their parents and they think, 鈥榳ow, this is great鈥�.鈥�
Global model, local focus
While IN4 Group is expanding internationally, including collaborations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Isap is focused on sharing lessons with UK councils first.
He said: 鈥�We want full visibility with other local authorities so we can bring them the same benefits we鈥檝e delivered in Salford.
鈥淔or me, it鈥檚 about doing more of the same: going deeper and finding those people who we鈥檝e yet not found and really unlocking that talent, showing more of what we can deliver in the local economy.鈥�
Isap believes that this focus on deeper engagement and discovering untapped talent can fuel lasting economic growth and create broader opportunities across the region.