News Desk: Forty of the UK’s leading women innovators are to scale up their innovations to help the UK recover from COVID-19 and tackle global challenges.
Visionary British female entrepreneurs are receiving government backing to drive forward their novel innovations and business ideas, as the UK builds back better from the COVID-19 pandemic and progresses its climate change ambitions.
Announced today (Monday 8 March 2021) by Science Minister Amanda Solloway to mark International Women’s Day, 40 of the country’s top female innovators will be awarded a cash injection of £50,000 each, as well as bespoke mentoring, to scale up and bring to market their disruptive business ideas, many of which have been borne out in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Located right across the UK, from Scotland to Salisbury, business innovations receiving government backing include a company creating sustainable green interior furniture for the airline industry, an app to make emergency services more accessible for those suffering from domestic abuse and an innovative technology to help large organisations to manage and reduce their waste.
Science Minister Amanda Solloway said:
As we build back better from COVID, it is a priority of mine to continue equipping our brightest female innovators with the tools they need to succeed, while encouraging a new generation of women to come forward and pursue their ambitions.
Today we are supporting 40 of our most trailblazing female entrepreneurs, helping them to turn their innovative ideas and aspirations into a reality, creating the products and services that will help improve our lives and boost our economy.
Among the entrepreneurs being backed today are:
Today’s funding is part of the government’s flagship Women in Innovation Awards, delivered by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which seeks to boost the number of UK female entrepreneurs, which could deliver £180 billion to the economy. Each winner will receive a £50,000 cash boost and a bespoke package of mentoring and business support to help drive forward their pioneering products and services.
Emily Nott, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Innovate UK said:
With 2020 proving to be an incredibly difficult year for everyone, and particularly women, continuing to support female entrepreneurs in 2021 has been a real priority for Innovate UK. We have had an enormous response and we can see some positives from the pandemic, with some of our shortlist inspired to start up a business in response to some of the challenges it has brought.
Working alongside the winners, Innovate UK will help them grow further. We can’t wait to see what else these inspiring women achieve and how they can be an example to inspire the next generation and to encourage more women-led businesses in this country as we rebuild and recover. It forms a key part of the government’s ambitious R&D Roadmap, published in July 2020, which committed to supporting the UK’s innovators and risk-takers by backing entrepreneurs and start-ups with the funding needed to scale up their innovations.
Emma Shaw, co-founder of Library of Things said:
Everyone should have access to quality products that improve their homes, lives and environment, without it costing the earth – whether it’s a drill for a DIY job, a tent for a camping adventure or tools for the garden. LoT has been overwhelmed with demand from communities across the UK wanting to bring the scheme to their neighbourhoods – and from local governments and businesses wanting to commission LoT’s service to stimulate their local circular economy.
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