Facebook has announced the opening of LDN_LAB, its first in-house start-up incubator. Following the opening of their new London office in Rathbone Place, which will be home to 2,300 people by the end of 2018, this is the latest step in Facebook's ongoing investment in the UK and in digital skills.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), London is the third best place in the world to start a business. But when it comes to growing a business, the UK falls to thirteenth place. Led by an expert advisory panel including Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook EMEA VP, and in partnership with London-based investment fund Bethnal Green Ventures, the LDN_LAB programme has been designed to support start-ups building communities through technology, with the goal to fuel innovation, create economic impact, and bootstrap the next generation of start-ups in the UK tech eco-system.