News

Research by DNV and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) reveals that despite the growing attention in the public, among legislators and companies, the shift to business models that design waste out of the system seems to progress slowly, and circular economy is rising on corporate agendas across geographies.

Diversity in entrepreneurship is boosted through the launch of Barclays Eagle Labs’ 12-week virtual accelerator programme which helps early-stage tech businesses founded by one or more Black entrepreneurs.

AirBolt, a consumer and enterprise tracking and access company, has announced the closing of its $2m series seed fundraising round, with a majority growth investment led by 72Capital. The investment will accelerate plans to expand AirBolt’s range of connected devices and global partnerships. It will also allow AirBolt to grow more aggressively internationally, expand into new product categories, and enhance its global live tracking service to deliver more peace of mind to its growing community of users.

Cera, a UK based provider of at home healthcare services, has now delivered more than ten million in-person healthcare visits to older and vulnerable people throughout the UK, in their homes, since the outbreak of COVID-19.

A new survey of 2,000 UK adults has revealed the fate of COVID-inspired business launches.

World Suicide Prevention Day takes place on the 10th September 2021. Overseas employees face very specific challenges that can differ depending on their host nation. Employers must be aware of the support, or lack of it, available in different countries and ensure their provision leaves no gaps.

Making.com, an online platform that simplifies the connection between people looking for production technology and suppliers that offer it, has launched. It is a platform to group technologies around the products they help make, allowing creators of all sizes access to the ‘hidden network’ of machines, manufacturers, tooling suppliers and therefore the knowledge previously accessible only through long-established private networks.

A new study by card payment provider, Dojo, reveals the daily habits of some of successful female entrepreneurs, to see just how their routines contribute to their success. 

Endeavor Nigeria has unveiled the inaugural cohort of entrepreneurs for its ten-week Endeavor ScaleUp Program that aims to support Nigeria’s most promising business leaders. 

UK-based Prsnt, the instant gifting app, is going public later this month after a successful beta testing phase over the past six months during which the search term ‘online gift’ increased over 80% last year. The app enables users to choose a gift from hundreds of the UK’s high street brands (online or in-store) and sends it directly to another person’s smartphone.

QJumpers, a sourcing and recruitment software provider, has announced it’s AI Talent Sourcing. The tool scours publicly available information and uses AI to find, rank and engage highly qualified, passive job candidates that previously could not be found through traditional sourcing and advertising methods.

BP Ventures has €10m in-car digital payments provider, ryd. The company offers a single digital payment solution for drivers, for services such as fuel purchases, EV charging and car washing, via its app or through integration with smart car systems.

Social art experience Paintclub rebrands to capitalise on its pandemic digital pivot and global expansion, with new brand strategy and identity by fst.

In 2020, Siemens Smart Infrastructure and WUN H2 partnered up to build a hydrogen production plant in Germany. The plant will run on renewable energy and will be carbon-free, contributing to Germany’s pledge to become gas-neutral by 2050. However exciting the news, Siemens is an established business within automation industry, the road to carbon neutrality is often harder for small manufacturers. Here Neil Ballinger, head of EMEA at automation parts supplier EU Automation, shares some tips.

Guy Rigby, Founder and now Chair of the Entrepreneurial Services Group at Smith & Williamson, and his fellow crew member, entrepreneur, investor and sports enthusiast, David Murray – will row across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in ‘The Entrepreneur Ship’. Rigby and Murray will begin their row from the Canaries to Antigua on 12th December 2021, hoping to arrive in February 2022. The completed challenge will see them recognised as the oldest pair in the world to row any ocean.

COVID-19 has shown the power of clinical trials. It took less than 300 days for one vaccine to go from being an idea in a lab to be ready for administering to the general public. The question now is how we can accelerate clinical trials for other diseases, at a time when the healthcare industry is stretched and doesn’t have the capacity to run patient research at the speed or scale that’s needed.

Here, we caught up with Dr Matt Wilson, Founder and CEO of research automation platform, uMed, who is on a mission to help more healthcare providers and their patients take part in clinical studies.

Startup OLÉ, a technological event for entrepreneurs, returns with 400 international speakers from 36 different nationalities. The way this edition will be available will be mixed, with the 6th and 7th of September being presented in digital format and the 8th to the 10th in person in Salamanca, Spain. To facilitate access to all the content, Startup OLÉ’21 will be streamed in its entirety, completely free of charge and on their YouTube channel.

38% of respondents have been approached over five times for a new job in the last year. That’s according to research from Talent Works, which surveyed software and government professionals to determine their opinions on different working policies and how often they are approached for new job roles. The survey also found that five percent have been approached more than ten times in the past year.

Botify has announced that they have closed $55m in Series C funding led y InfraVia Growth, with participation from Bpifrance through its Large Venture fund, as well as existing investors Eurazeo and Ventech. Nicolas Herschtel from InfraVia and Antoine Izsak from Bpifrance Large Venture will join Botify’s Board of Directors.

Unleash live, an AI video analytics platform, have announced an $8m Series A funding round led by SafetyCulture. Unleash live’s AI powered real time analytics platform, ‘Intelligent Remote Vision’, generates immediate insights that enable enterprises to materially drive down costs, raise productivity, increase accuracy, and improve safety. The company has seen over 500% growth since March 2020.