A total of 40 businesses with entrepreneurial potential have received £1.5m after being named winners at the Scottish EDGE Awards.
One of the biggest winners at the awards was Edinburgh-based Lentitek, a provider of next-generation cancer therapy. The firm, founded by Adam Inche, received a total of £100,000 in the award sponsored by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC).
In the Young EDGE category, for entrepreneurs under the age of 30, winners included North Coast Watersports and Robocean, which received the top Harper Macleod and Scottish Enterprise £15,000 prizes respectively.
Scottish Enterprise agreed to extend its contribution of £75,000 in the Young EDGE category for both rounds 19 and 20, enabling a further seven winners aged 18 to 30 to be supported each round, taking the total to 14.
Leah Pape, head of entrepreneurship and investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: “The high calibre of innovative applicants EDGE attracts is testament to its ever-growing reputation and gave the EDGE 19 judging panel a very tough job.”
Wildcard EDGE winners - the category for pre-trading companies, sole-traders and partnerships - received £85,000 in total, including Samastar, which was awarded £15,000.
Royal Bank of Scotland pledged further support to Scottish EDGE, the UK’s biggest funding competition for high growth potential businesses, following the debut of its Net Zero category last year.
This year’s Net Zero award was won by Edinburgh based Farm-Hand, a platform connecting farmers and farming aggregators to appropriate agriculture solutions. Founder Abhimanyu Bhavgava received funds of £70,000 to support the company’s growth.
As the standout business from a circular perspective, POTR Pots received £50,000 as the winner of the Circular Economy Award, supported by Zero Waste Scotland, for its range of flat-pack self-watering plant pots and vases, made using recycled materials.
Another winner of the night was Love Electric Financial Services, which received £70,000 plus £75,000 advertising spend through the STV supported STV Growth Award.
In the Social Enterprise category, supported by the Postcode Innovation Trust, Glasgow-based The Whisky Chairmen received £50,000 for its zero-waste manufacturing social enterprise tackling poverty in Inverclyde.
Additional funding from Royal Bank of Scotland and Scottish Enterprise compliments the £1m boost led by The Hunter Foundation from several of Scotland’s leading entrepreneurs last year. The final brings the total pot of money awarded through Scottish EDGE to support early stage, high growth businesses to more than £20m in the 19 rounds now completed with over 500 successful applicants.
Judith Cruickshank, regional managing director for Scotland and the North of England at RBS, said: “Enterprise is at the core of our economy, and the financial sector has a collective responsibility to foster an environment where entrepreneurs can start, scale, and thrive.
“The time to act on climate change is now and investing in high growth businesses through initiatives such as the Net Zero award not only has a positive impact on individuals, but on the future of Scotland as a nation.”
Evelyn McDonald, chief executive of Scottish EDGE, added: “It’s now our eighth year running Scottish EDGE and it’s been a real pleasure to have supported over 500 businesses throughout this time.
“The success achieved doesn’t only benefit the companies but provides a potential much needed boost to the wider Scottish economy.”
This year, Scottish EDGE received 177 applications. The finalists pitched to judges at the end of May in front of a live audience.
This year’s Scottish EDGE winners (alphabetically):
17 Seas t/a ThankBox - An online group card and cash collection service, similar to the paper card in a physical office - £50,000
Argyle IT & Education - An education technology for immersive and blended online learning in higher education institutions - £10,000
Atypical Cosmetics - A combination of proprietary artificial intelligence, natural ingredients and customisation technology to let users customise the ingredients in their skincare based on their allergies and needs - £70,000
Audio Sun - A device that will solar recharge three different types of hearing aid batteries, preventing the need for single use ones - £10,000
BGR Training - A versatile, compact and adaptable fitness tool that enables anyone to workout anytime and anywhere - £80,000
Bikerbnb - A platform for motorcycle travellers to plan trips and share stories - £70,000
Boxfluence - A portable boxing ring, along with training wear, such as gloves and head guards, made out of sustainable material - £10,000
Caribbean Goods - Specialty green coffee imported from Guatemala, based in Glasgow, offered in a gift box which includes an augmented reality tasting session - £10,000
Continulus - Making continuing professional development more accessible, affordable and socially-conscious for all healthcare professionals - £70,000
Danu Robotics - An East Lothian based clean-tech start-up developing an intelligent robotic solution for the recycling industry to significantly increase recycling efficiency - £75,000
Eslington t/a Perro - A wearable device, to be connected to a dog’s collar or harness, and a companion mobile app that will combine to enable users to track and monitor their dog’s location, activity and health metrics in real time - £10,000
E.V.A Biosystems - Cutting edge biomaterials using synthetic biology that improves on traditional plastics while remaining compatible with current industrial techniques and equipment - £10,000
Farm-Hand - Connects farmers and farming aggregators to appropriate agri solutions through a data-driven farm management platform powered by geospatial and satellite, crop, weather, resource and community feedback analytics - £70,000
Forth View Designs - Developing and commercialising a plasterboard wall anchor which is easy to install and has patent pending status - £10,000
HUID - A sustainable material innovation made out of waste onion skins that aims to subvert plastics in single use applications - £10,000
Inteldis - A two year-old start-up aiming to aid British people and internationals, including people with disabilities, in learning English and broader communication - £10,000
Lentitek - A manufacturing approach to improve viral yield and help lower the cost of the cancer therapy CAR-T - £100,000
Love Electric Financial Services - Aiming to make electric cars affordable and accessible by letting employees sacrifice a portion of their salary in return for a new electric car, typically saving around 50% - £70,000
Morphic Technology - Seamless outdoor group sports communications, regardless of the environment, through the development of innovative technology - £10,000
NextChain t/a Lemon - A mobile application to help chefs comply with food safety procedures - £10,000
North Coast Watersports - Cold water surfing experiences among the best waves in the UK - £15,000
Onboard.ID - A privacy-preserving digital credential infrastructure that streamlines that user onboarding process and facilitate secure data transfer in safety critical applications - £10,000
Podspectrix - A medical technology start-up developing a non-invasive imaging device for earlier detection and prevention of ulcers in diabetic foot disease - £10,000
POTR Pots - Self-watering plant care via the flat-pack pots and vases, delivered through the post - £50,000
Prozymi Biolabs - A food technology start-up aiming to revolutionise the gluten-free production using gluten degrading microorganisms and their enzymes - £10,000
Recover Packaging - Lidding film technology offering easy opening and reclosing, approved as being suitable for kerbside collection for recycling - £80,000
Robocean - A subsea robotics company developing novel technologies to mechanise seagrass restoration - £15,000
Rostra Therapeutics - A drug discovery and development spinout from University of Strathclyde focused on treating infectious diseases globally - £80,000
Samastar - A device to automate monitoring of microbial cultures in shake flasks, with artificial intelligence integration for data analysis in real-time - £15,000
Savora Drinks - Drink mixers crafted for pairing with Tequila - £10,000
Studio Vans - Installation systems for converting standard vans to campervans for eco-friendly refits, through scalable artistic collaborations, community and environmental initiatives - £80,000
Swarna Spice t/a Praveen Kumar - Frozen Indian meals made in Perth using family grown spices and British produce - £75,000
The Organic Laundry t/a Hidden Lane Organic Brewery - Glasgow’s first fully organic brewery, using a zero waste brewing solution and utilising low environmental impact methodologies - £85,000
The Whisky Chairmen - A zero-waste manufacturing social enterprise tackling poverty in Inverclyde, by crafting bespoke furniture from whisky barrels - £50,000
Theo Health - Creators of smart-clothing and an app that allows people to measure, track and analyse your muscle development, even before progress is physically be visible - £85,000
Tuggs - The country’s first freshly-prepared, insect-based dog food, which has a far lower carbon footprint than meat-based foods and improve a dog's lifespan by up to 32 months compared to commercial dry dog food - £10,000
Voxsio t/a UB-OK - Formerly known as Voxsio, this digital health company is based in Edinburgh and provides a software-as-a-service platform that captures clinical expertise and turns it into always available interactive support for patients - £50,000
VSL - A patent pending supplement shaker that creates smoother shakes, prevents leakage, and defends against odour and bacteria - £10,000
Yaldi Games - A game developer with the mission to create meaningful games that go beyond digital to have real life impact - £10,000
Yesil Ltd t/a Propeco - Helping home-owners manage the risks and opportunities emerging from climate change - £10,000
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