VEYDAR COMMUNITY CIC
A community where AI serves, not leads
The AI Community Hub, East London
We build and run a permanent, safeguarded AI training hub in Poplar, Tower Hamlets, for the residents most likely to be locked out of the AI economy.
What we do
Veydar Commune CIC is an asset-locked community interest company, set up to build and operate a physical AI Community Hub in East London. The Hub delivers structured AI training by day and free community programming by evening, from a 68.4m² space at St Matthias Community Centre in Poplar, on a 7-year locked tenure.
Over three years we will reach 429 residents. 234 will complete a structured pathway that ends in a verified employer reference and an Adult Skills Fund qualification. From year three the Hub becomes self-funding through SME cohort income, so every pound of grant delivers ongoing community benefit for years after the funding ends.
Every learner is trained in responsible AI use, safeguarding, guardrails and data governance from day one. Not bolted on. Built in.
Who we serve
The Hub is for the residents of Poplar and the wider Tower Hamlets area who are locked out of the AI economy by cost, geography, or circumstance:
- Adults on Universal Credit and low incomes seeking a route into technology work
- Women returning to work or changing career, in a sector where the female share of UK AI roles has fallen to 20%
- Young people aged 16 to 24 leaving education without a clear pathway into technology
- Small and medium enterprises in East London that cannot afford to hire externally into AI roles
Poplar Central has the lowest disposable income of any neighbourhood in Tower Hamlets. Tower Hamlets holds the largest gap between richest and poorest neighbourhoods of any local authority in Great Britain. The AI economy sits two DLR stops away in Canary Wharf. Our residents have no route into it.
The Hub is the route.
Where we are
St Matthias Community Centre, Poplar, London E14.
A locally rooted community centre with decades of relationships in the neighbourhood, chosen because it is trusted, accessible, and part of the community it serves. The venue is a partner, not a landlord: rent match funding is contributed by St Matthias, and business rates and utilities are absorbed.
Our partners
The Hub is delivered through a partner stack rooted in East London and validated by public funders.
- New City College
Accreditation passthrough for Adult Skills Fund training, and a 20-year track record of adult learning delivery in East London. - St Matthias Community Centre
Anchor venue, Poplar. - Dell Technologies
Technology partner providing workstations and infrastructure. - Splash
East London based marketing and branding partner. - Tower Hamlets Council for Voluntary Service
Community outreach and adult learning network access. - East End Trades Guild
SME cohort recruitment and employer connections. - Jobcentre Plus
Get London Working referral pathway.
Our technical delivery model has been independently validated through an Innovate UK TechLocal grant awarded to a related commercial venture operated by the same founding team.
Get involved
We are recruiting community advisors, mentors, learners and SME partners. If you live in Tower Hamlets and want to learn AI, get in touch. If you run an SME in East London that wants to train staff in responsible AI use, get in touch. If you represent a community organisation and want to talk about referral pathways, get in touch.
Veydar Commune CIC. Registered in England and Wales. Community Interest Company.