To mark Earth Day 2021, creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree has announced a second wave of speakers for its upcoming Earthrise Summit, a virtual festival to unite sustainability leaders, founders, politicians, change makers and innovators from all corners of the world - to inspire people to take action. 

Corgee has secured its first pre-seed investment from Think Bigger Capital to develop its AI-powered finance app to make personal finance simpler for the UK’s 5.3 million self-employed.

A cohort of ten technology startups have graduated from the Techstars Hub71 accelerator, making compelling presentations to the community at the annual Demo Day. The portfolio companies hope to secure a total $15m in funding to support their rapid growth. 

2020 tied with 2016 as the hottest year on record as a result of human activities, according to NASA. Keeping business going during a pandemic has been front and centre this past year, but it’s possible that it’s distracted business leaders from another major crisis of our times - climate change.

As restrictions continue to lift and organisations prepare to bring employees back to the workplace, a new report from hackajob has revealed that 86% of technology professionals in the UK and Europe don't want to return to the office full time at all.

Payhawk, the platform for payments and expense management, has raised $20m. The Series A round is led by the US-based fund QED Investors, which has a strong track record of investing in 18 fintech unicorns, including Klarna and Nubank. Existing investor Earlybird Digital East, who led the $3.6m seed round in March 2020, is also contributing fresh capital.

The pandemic has forced a recruitment rethink, and a huge uptake in flexible talent acquisition services. UK-founded scaleup, Talent Works reported 400% growth in March 2020 compared to March 2021, and a sustained 20% month-on-month forecasted compound growth.

Research from Ezra has revealed that a fifth of UK workers feel they get less recognition within their career as a direct result of working remotely. It remains to be seen to what extent we will return to a full working environment, as COVID-19 restrictions see many continue to work from home for part of, if not their whole working week.

A team of top scientists from the University of Bristol have announced the formation of a new biotech company that is developing newly patented potential treatments for Coronavirus.

BIG MAMMA founders, Tigrane Seydoux and Victor Lugger have joined forces with Christine de Wendel to announce a €20m seed round to support the launch of a new, innovative payment method - Sunday, created by restaurateurs for restaurants.

Suss Ventures have contributed a six-figure sum alongside a multi-million investment drive. This raise marks a huge success for Suss Ventures who are synonymous with sourcing sustainable businesses for their community of impact-driven investors and corporate partners. The zero-effort payment system eliminates the worry of parking fines and is completely cashless, automated and secure.

Kickstart Innovation, one of Europe's zero-equity, open innovation platforms based in Zurich, is currently launching its sixth program, and welcoming applications from businesses across the world. The application period is from 15th April to 17th May.

An independent London teleshopping channel is offering small businesses with a unique product innovation the chance to sell their products for free in a TV advert worth up to £5,000 on Sky TV as part of its ‘Road to Recovery’ campaign.

With the annual Hustle Awards event planning in full swing, we are excited to announce that Sonya Barlow, award winning entrepreneur, founder of the LMFnetwork, diversity business coach and motivational speaker, as her efforts are focused on bridging the skills gap and creating inclusive cultures.

The global early-stage venture capital firm, Antler has unveiled the seven startups it has invested in during its third UK cohort.

When a startup embarks on the entrepreneurial journey it can be very daunting, and you may need some help and guidance along the way. Here at Startups Magazine we have created our second Survival Guide issue, sponsored by Digi-Key,  which will give you in depth advice and information from some of the industry's leading experts.

Market engagement platform Grip has partnered with the inaugural Event Tech Live (ETL) USA & Canada, set to take place from 8th until 9th June 2021. 

Vistage, business performance and leadership advancement organisation for small and medium-size businesses, has found that over 3 in 4 (74%) of SME leaders expect economic conditions to improve in the next year. The report has also found that a majority (84%) of companies anticipate revenue will continue to improve in the same period of time.

Clim8 Invest (Clim8), the investment platform to help consumers invest in companies that are focused on tackling climate change, has announced the launch of its mobile app. 

GENIE, an automated talent agent for the creative industry, has announced the closing of its second funding round, led by female led corporate advisor, Adelpha, taking their total funding to-date to £1.75m. GENIE also announced advertising industry legend, Sir John Hegarty as Chairman, as the team look to disrupt the ways companies hire talent in the post-COVID world.

More than two-thirds (70%) of sole traders in the UK enjoy being small and don’t aspire to grow in future, with 62% saying the benefits of being a sole trader far outweigh those of being a larger business. 

A new study by Lenstore has revealed the detrimental effects of spending time on your devices during COVID-19 and the effects this is having on your physical and mental health. 

On Tuesday, 6th of April, the new European rural innovation initiative REinA (Rural European Innovation Area) was launched. An initiative created with the aim of reducing the gap between the two sides of Europe and Spain, a growing and thriving urban side opposite to the empty, rural and deprived of a true future.

Indian tech startups are enjoying a period of sustained success. The pandemic, a tape-cutting Government budget, and record-levels of investment has spurred the subcontinent’s tech-heavy sectors to dizzying growth.

Deloitte has launched its third Gravity Challenge - a global technology innovation programme that encourages corporates, entrepreneurs and universities to use innovative space technology to solve real-world problems facing society, industry and the environment.

Over the past year, remote working has proven to be less of a hindrance and more of a benefit to a lot of UK businesses. As a result, business decision makers are more flexible when considering candidates for employment, with new research revealing that nearly three quarters (73%) are open to hiring people from anywhere in the UK, rather than just those local to their business. 

Banco Santander and the Global Sports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft (GSIC) present FootballCan 2041, a joint initiative to create the best innovation solutions to make football more inclusive, diverse and sustainable. This initiative aligns with Santander’s purpose to help people and businesses prosper, and with its strategy to have a positive impact on football and society.

Data from absence management platform, e-days, reveals that when comparing pre-pandemic levels in March 2019 to March 2021, the number of stress sickness days recorded has increased by 113%. 

Prsnt have raised £180,000 through Suss Ventures, the bespoke investor matching service at Sussex Innovation. The tech startup aims to dominate the gifting marketplace, by creating a peer-to-peer gift exchange platform to leverage the ‘feel good' factor of giving and receiving gifts. The investment will be used to streamline the app after its successful beta testing, and to grow its user base as part of ongoing business and technological development. 

The Event Technology Awards 2021 (ETA21) opens for submissions from 1st April and the first wave of judges has been announced, more than 75% of them new to the process.

Attic Self Storage has announced the launch of its eCommerce Accelerator Program, to celebrate the official opening this week of its brand new facility in Harrow, London. Attic also has several other sites across London, so will be championing budding entrepreneurs in the capital by offering them free units, workspaces and funding to help them scale their enterprises. 

Ziglu, the UK-based and FCA regulated cryptocurrency challenger, has launched Bitcoin Boost, an account that allows Ziglu users to earn interest equivalent to an annual percentage rate of 5% on their bitcoin.

Funding Options has joined forces with digital bank, Starling Bank to deliver business critical access to finance as SMEs across the UK rebuild following a turbulent year.

Intellectual property firm, Mathys & Squire will celebrate World IP Day 2021 on Monday 26th April by hosting a virtual pitching session inviting innovative UK-based startups and SMEs to showcase their business and innovations in front of an expert panel to win a prize of £3,000.

Triend Travel is a social marketplace that utilises user-generated video content with an innovative algorithm and technology which allows consumers to make personalised travel recommendations based on their love of travel.

Creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree has announced it’s hosting Earthrise Summit, a virtual festival to unite sustainability leaders, founders, politicians, change makers and innovators from all corners of the world, to inspire people to take action.

Empathy, a platform helping families navigate the journey they face after losing a loved one, has announced the launch of its application on iOS and Android for users across the United States. Empathy’s technology-enabled platform is designed to guide families experiencing loss with purpose and compassion. Empathy is backed by $13m in a seed round co-led by General Catalyst and Aleph.

Towergate Health & Protection is warning employers that they could unwittingly be leaving themselves open to uninsured liabilities that could cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds if their employee benefits are not aligned with their contracts of employment. 

Psyomics, the innovative UK-based healthtech company, has launched its mental health assessment platform Censeo with two London based GP practices, to gather real world data and feedback prior to commercial launch later this year. 

It’s hard to believe that this month marked one year since the Prime Minister’s solemn address where millions of us were asked to stay at home.

The fifth edition of Digital Enterprise Show confirms its celebration in person at IFEMA, bringing together the entire technological ecosystem. DES2021 will guide Spanish companies to take advantage of NextGeneration EU European recovery funds and find the technological partner to drive the transformation of their business model.

New data released today by Innovate UK, points to a dramatic increase in the number of young people setting up their own businesses in the last decade – with the number nearly doubling (98% increase) from 2009 to 2020. What’s more, despite the pandemic - and in some cases inspired by the impact of COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns - numbers continued to jump in 2020, with a 15% increase in the number of young people starting their own businesses from 2019.

Yeo Valley Organic, Britain’s largest organic brand, has created scannable QR codes that have been shaved into the hides of all 400 of their own British Friesian cows, to celebrate the national rollout of their connected  packaging. 

Small businesses have been some of the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, lacking the resources needed to recover in the same manner as bigger companies. The new Help to Grow scheme announced by the UK Government plans to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) develop their digital competencies and boost their profits, while helping the nation expand its technological infrastructure. Here Neil Bellinger, head of EMEA at automation parts supplier EU Automation, explains what the new initiative means for the manufacturing sector.

Cash flow is the key motivation for SMEs applying for finance, according to an exclusive index of UK brokers by Europe’s leading small business lender iwoca. 

UK startup itsettled is looking to help SMEs struggling under the burden of late payment with their recently launched #GetTheUKPaid initiative. 

Fintech, Foodtech and Healthtech companies are defying pandemic pressures and driving strong hiring growth among British startups and scaleups, according to new research from leading start-up job site Work in Startups.

The 2021 workforce will have a completely different composition, facilitated by tools such as Global Teams, just launched by people management operating system Employment Hero.

Small businesses who want to improve their data quality and become better data-informed, but may lack the right skills to execute a successful strategy in response, have received a boost with the launch of a new Data Scientist degree apprenticeship by the University of Nottingham.

European satellite and communications startup, Hiber BV has secured €26m in EU and private investment to expand the world’s first global IoT (Internet of Things) satellite network. 

Xero has revealed that small business jobs have increased slightly for a fifth consecutive month in the UK, with year-on-year revenues also improving compared to January according to Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI).

Since 2016 the Startup Heatmap Europe crowns the most attractive startup hubs in Europe. Based on a representative sample of founders in Europe the survey reveals the Top 50 cities where founders would like to start a company if they could choose freely. 

A Shropshire web tech expert is giving up his time to make sure businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic get the digital support they need to recover.

Innovative travel technology company, TapTrip has partnered with industry leading, TravelPerk to integrate TravelSafe API, a new product designed for the wider travel ecosystem to help boost fluid business travel through traveller confidence and safety. 

Amazon announces the launch of the Amazon Launchpad Innovation Awards, a free competition designed to support emerging, innovative European startups by giving them chance to win a ‘Startup of the year’ prize of €100,000.

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. 

Oxford Medical Products (OMP) has raised £1.2m in seed investment to develop a safe and affordable weight loss capsule, which uses the same mechanism of action as a gastric balloon, but can be taken at home. The funding will be used to complete pre-clinical testing, upscale and outsource manufacturing and grow the team.

Chelsea Football Club has launched a unique offering to help support local businesses get back on their feet, by inviting small companies with a London postcode to apply for free advertising space on matchdays.

We are excited to announce the ten startups selected to join the ABN AMRO & Techstars Future of Finance Accelerator, virtually in these pandemic times, in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is the birthplace of many financial innovations over centuries past that continue to influence the world of finance today.

A unique digital skills powerhouse is set to transform talent diversity in the North West’s tech sector, by breaking the barriers faced by those from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds and fast-tracking 450 people into careers in digital technology every year.

Creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree has announced international law firm, CMS to join as their first sustainability programme partner alongside Silicon Valley Bank, and A/O Proptech - Europe’s largest proptech VC firm. All three will provide support and services to Huckletree’s educational programmes, members and events.

Cancer Research UK and Capital Enterprise, together with Roche UK, have launched the Cancer Tech Accelerator programme. This new initiative will help researchers translate their ideas and lifesaving discoveries into innovations that will improve the lives of cancer patients.  

Civic Tech platform, CitizenLab has announced a move to open up the core version of its community engagement software, in an effort to equip smaller organisations and communities with the tools to democratise policy-making by involving more citizens.

The next Mayor of London’s TechInvest, taking place 27th April, will celebrate 10 of London’s pioneering HealthTech startups. This upcoming TechInvest instalment will seek to identify industry leaders that are converging technologies with medicine and healthcare to improve the efficiency and delivery of prediction, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

Like Minded Females (LMF) Network joined efforts with online business school Jolt and technology venture firm, Balderton Capital to grant five Future Leaders scholarships to rising female tech talent from LMF’s community. The full bursaries will allow them to attend Jolt's Switch course, a programme designed to create pathways for those who want to begin a career in tech. 

Beautystack Founder and CEO, Sharmadean Reid has launched her latest venture, a new media platform called The Stack World that will bring together content, community and commerce and put intelligence at the core of the women’s media landscape. 

LawtechUK, the government-backed initiative within Tech Nation, to help transform the UK legal sector through technology, today brings to a close the Pilot stage of the first Lawtech Sandbox - a research and development initiative for lawtech scaleups - following a successful three month trial period.

There is not long left to appy for the opportunity to up-skill and up-scale your business, refine, develop and launch your product to market and secure a contract of work with Transport for Wales. 

Osu, the payment app for the UK’s self-employed, has announced the close of a £2.25m seed round, led by early-stage experts Creandum, to fund further growth to reach 10,000 customers this year. 

New data shows fears for pupils’ well-being, increased workloads and concerns about the toll on their own health have all contributed to a massive increase in stress for teachers during the pandemic.

Social impact fund Valloop, created to help employees and management buy the companies they work for, delivered compound annual growth of 16.1% over a five-year period between September 2015 and September 2020. 

The past 12 months have placed many obstacles and challenges in the path of businesses, as the pandemic took grip of the nation and workplace processes were forced to change to stay within government guidelines.

Sage has unveiled research showing that 1 in 2 (52%) UK adults dream about starting their own business.  However, over half (53%) of those feel that money worries are stopping them from turning the idea into a reality - a fear that has been exacerbated by the stresses of COVID-19. 

A pioneering new mindfulness training programme, powered by Virtual Reality (VR) training specialists Virti, has launched this month to help employees cope with the demands of their jobs during the pandemic.

As WhatsApp users are forced to share personal data with Facebook, a new competitor - YEO (Your Eyes Only) Messaging - has launched today, offering an alternative ultra-secure private messaging platform.

A year since it was awarded CBILS lender status, responsible lender, AskIf, can now reveal it has approved close to £4m to deserving SMEs and micro businesses, playing an essential role in the national push to help businesses survive and thrive. AskIf has delivered on its mission to be an inclusive lender with 17% of CBILS loans distributed to BAME-owned businesses, and 22% to female-led businesses. 

With many of us working from home, dogs crashing our virtual business meetings has not only become the norm, but the preferred. According to recent data, dogs gate crashing your virtual meeting may have other benefits such as better feelings of wellbeing and lower stress levels.

The findings of a new report shows that employee welfare has been catapulted to the top of the HR agenda for business leaders, with two-thirds of employees reporting a spike in support being offered to both furloughed and non-furloughed teams since May 2020. 

Hotel owner and restaurateur Maximilian Steurer is an early adopter of the paul&ernst bikes, a decision that proved particularly lucrative during the past year. Pastry chef Lisa Haas also opted for her own bike when starting her own business - during the height of the pandemic in 2020.

New research by money.co.uk has crowned Google as the most successful company to be started at university. The search engine sits at the top of the university startup league table with a current market capitalisation of $1.27 trillion (£926 billion). This is 12.7 million times greater than the $100,000 initial funding the company received in 1998. 

Launching one year after the first lockdown, creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree has launched a new campaign with Otherway to address the year that’s been, celebrating the founders persevering and innovating despite the pandemic, whilst inspiring the companies of the future to be brave in the face of adversity.

A new report has revealed the devastating impact a year of lockdown has had on the mental health of those running business. According to a study by Harper James Solicitors the strain of the past 12 months has led to one counselling platform recording an 84% rise in demand.

An after-work programme designed to support people in starting social enterprises has enabled 18 businesses to launch, as well as helping some secure almost £20,000 in funding.

Figures collected by insurance broker PolicyBee show a large increase in sales of cyber insurance since the UK went into lockdown in March 2020.

Ihqlak Hussain’s new book, SUCCEED!: An Inspirational Toolkit for the Serious Entrepreneur, dives into the author’s own personal experience, coming from a tough background, working hard and successfully achieving his goals. This book offers easy to understand and must-read advice for budding entrepreneurs designed to highlight how to plan, develop and execute a new business venture.

Plymouth Startup Weekend is back this spring with a big question for business brains and creative thinkers everywhere: How can our cities rejuvenate culture and tourism post-pandemic? For Britain’s Ocean City, which was picked as one of the top ten places to travel in 2020 by Condé Nast Traveller magazine, this is an even bigger question. 

Bubo.AI is an AI solution for customer value-based pricing. Cloud technology and advanced analytics allow clients to determine the path to more profitability based on optimised prices. Founded and based in the UK, Bubo.AI won the ‘Best Emerging Technology in AI’ award in 2020.

A London-based software development company has launched a new initiative offering the country’s startups the opportunity to develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) as part of an economy-boosting scheme in the wake of the pandemic.

Rishi Sunak has predicted a rise in hybrid or flexible working in local hubs once the pandemic is over. Speaking on the Politico Westminster Insider podcast this month, he cited the rise of 'neighbourhood' serviced offices springing up across New York, and thinks these small local hubs for people who want to avoid the commute but don't want to work at home is something that should be picked up in the UK. 

A new report from The Entrepreneurs Network think tank by former Office for AI Adviser Séb Krier sets out eight key recommendations to make the UK the best place in the world for AI innovation.

Thirteen companies who are helping the UK’s healthcare, manufacturing and resource sectors recover from the impact of COVID-19 have been chosen to join Microsoft’s AI for Social Impact 2021 programme.

Challenges such as increasing traffic, rising emissions and limited space are affecting Metropolitan regions around the world, and these developments call for innovative approaches. The City of Hamburg aims to support smart solutions for the city of tomorrow, with the Future Hamburg Award. 

Healthtech company, NuroKor BioElectronics has announced plans to double its team and further its international expansion, following 12 months of rapid growth during which the company’s half-year sales rose by 156%.

As the vaccine continues to be rolled out across the UK, business confidence is at its highest point since the beginning of the pandemic. Here, businesses continue to be overwhelmingly supportive of the Government’s approach to help companies through COVID-19, with nearly four fifths either somewhat or very supportive of their initiatives.

Xero has announced it has signed BDO as a Xero Global Partner, as part of a new three year global agreement. Xero will become BDO’s preferred accounting solution for its Business, Services and Outsourcing clients in the small to medium business space - significantly growing the number of BDO clients on Xero over the next three years.

incspaces, a space-as-a-service operator with locations across London, Leeds, and Manchester, is urging workers to consider supporting their vital local economies as they begin to return to the office later this year. Under the Government’s roadmap to recovery, office workers are expected to begin a phased return to the workplace from 12th April as an increasing number of businesses are given the green light to reopen. The team behind the growing flex space initiative is keen to use this as an opportunity to support small firms.

Research from Ezra, a global provider of digital coaching, has found that UK office workers value their new norm of working from home so much that many would forsake career progression, company benefits and even a pay rise to maintain it.

We are currently living in two versions of Europe, on one hand, there is a thriving urban one, with big cities such as Madrid, Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Milan, etc., and on the other hand there is rural Europe, depopulated and lacking in possibilities, in a continuous decline and without horizon or prosperous future.  

CareLineLive, the all-in-one home care management software that increases efficiency, capacity, compliance and communication of both managers and carers by digitising their work flows, has announced that it has secured a £175k grant from the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.

Sure Valley Ventures, the venture capital firm that invests in early stage software companies, has announced that it has led a Seed investment round of £1m for Polience Limited (“PreCog”), a security solution platform company that is able to provide data intelligence to combat crime, terrorism and protect vulnerable people.

Tech Nation has announced the release of its annual Tech Nation Report, the ultimate state-of-the-nation report on the UK tech sector. In its seventh year, the report lifts the lid on tech in an extraordinary 2020, revealing how the sector has changed, who the top performers were through the year, and the challenges and opportunities the UK faces as it navigates out of the pandemic and leaving the EU.

Global online sales grew 27.6% in 2020 to reach $4.28tn and the number of transactions needing customer support increased from one-in-eight to one-in-six. In response, eCommerce customer service specialist, eDesk is supercharging support for its 23,000 agents with AI advancements, expediting the company product roadmap.

Many of us have faced work challenges due to the long term restrictions implemented as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with unemployment estimated to be at its highest since 2016 at 4.9%.

The fourth edition of ChangeNOW has announced digital broadcasting from Paris and other live locations worldwide. A significant milestone for the planet, with the online streaming of inspiring content and meetings of impact actors, to create a global momentum of multi-stakeholder collaboration on our century’s issues.

The first national UK lockdown was announced one year ago on 23rd March, bringing with it social distancing restrictions that required physical office and store closures across the UK, changing the course of thousands of small businesses.

Cleantech engineering firm, Sunswap has recently secured half a million pounds in crowdfunding that will be used to rapidly scale the business and deploy their zero-emission TRU technology on the roads by the end of 2021. 

University of Bristol spin-out CytoSeek has raised a £3.5m seed round to develop new cell therapies to treat solid tumours in cancer patients. The funding is led by Science Creates Ventures (SCV), Bristol’s new deep tech EIS fund for science and engineering startups, and is the firm’s first investment since announcing its venture capital fund last December.

Loui Blake, serial entrepreneur and angel investor, invests in Embargo loyalty app and joins as an advisor following the tech startup’s significant growth during COVID-19.

Ibex Medical Analytics, the pioneer in AI-powered cancer diagnostics, has announced a $38m Series B financing round led by Octopus Ventures and 83North, with additional participation from aMoon, Planven Entrepreneur Ventures and Dell Technologies Capital, the corporate venture arm of Dell Technologies, bringing total funding of Ibex to $52m.

A North-East based fintech firm has been launched with the aim of digitally transforming the way private equity firms, venture capital funds and angel investment networks currently manage the end-to-end investment process.

Edtech marketplace, Preply, has secured an additional $35m of funding, a sum that exceeds the platform’s cumulative fundraising efforts since 2013. The round was co-led by Owl Ventures and Full In Partners, with participation from previous investors Point Nine Capital, Hoxton Ventures, as well as EduCapital, All Iron, Diligent Capital and Evli Growth Partners.

Digital transformation means many things to many people, so it’s important to segment and analyse startups developing foundational enabling technologies as well as key impacted applications, such as Industry 4.0 and digital health. Lux Research’s digital transformation experts are continuously monitoring industry megatrends and events to identify innovative startups in the space.

The past year has demonstrated how important deeptech innovation is to solving some of the greatest challenges faced today, from finding vaccine candidates for the COVID-19 pandemic through to solving climate change and transforming healthcare. The UK’s deeptech sector is a critical part of the Government’s post-Brexit ambition for the UK to become a global ‘Science Superpower’. 

Guess who is back, back again with bigger and better plans than before. The Hustle Awards is returning for 2021, with a super exciting hybrid format, so not only does this mean we plan to actually network and celebrate with some of you in person; if that does not sound as exhilarating to you as it does to us, you can still enjoy this year’s awards from the comfort of your own home!

Influencer marketing. An ideal channel for a brand looking to raise awareness and grow its consumer base, but can influencer marketing work in a B2B setting? According to Yorkshire-based tech startup, socialsendr, yes it can, with the business seeing an immediate increase in platform sign ups following a campaign with a nano influencer on TikTok. 

After another record-breaking year, in which VC investment surpassed more than €38bn in Europe, Dealroom has released its annual ranking of the Most Prominent Venture Capital Investors for 2021 - and this time, it’s gone global. 

FemTech Lab - Europe’s first independent accelerator that helps the rising stars of FemTech take their products to market - has announced its carefully-selected spring 2021 cohort of startups within the women’s healthcare and wellbeing space.

To mark International Women's Day, University of Bristol-led tech incubator, SETsquared Bristol, are opening applications for Enterprising Women 2.0, a pre-incubation programme for women-led businesses, in partnership with NatWest.

Following the government’s latest support measures for SMEs, new research from Xero shows that many firms acknowledge they will make more use of technology to capitalise on the post-lockdown bounceback, with the potential for a £16.6bn productivity boost.

Innovative property technology company, Vouch has confirmed that their team has more than doubled since March 2020, marking a 118% workforce increase despite the lockdown. Designed and built by letting agents for letting agents, Vouch delivers a referencing solution designed for the 21st century. 

Angel Business Club will lift the lid on the secrets to investment success when the club’s Insights Series returns on Wednesday 17th March.

A London-based business growth agency has set up a neural network to help enhance its Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services.

Xero accounting and bookkeeping practices and app partners across the UK and Ireland were honoured at the annual Xero awards. Hosted by Gary Turner, Xero UK & EMEA Managing Director and comedian, Henry Paker in an online ceremony, the awards showcased the achievements of those supporting small businesses through one of the toughest years. 

UK businesses are at risk of losing employee trust through choosing to abstain from reporting their gender gap figures, following on from the EHRC’s second deadline extension. Government figures show that nearly half of 10,000 eligible employers chose not to submit their pay gap figures last year - equalling to nearly 5,000 businesses that possibly have something to hide.

The founder of LatchAid, a FemTech startup using innovative technology to revolutionise breastfeeding and early parenting support, has won the prestigious Women in Innovation award.

Digital Boost, a new platform connecting organisations with digital skills founded by serial entrepreneur Sherry Coutu CBE, has today set out a bold ambition to digitally upskill 500,000 women from female-led organisations by January 2022, with 200,000 of those from BAME backgrounds.

To mark International Women’s Day 2021, Sodexo Engage UK is offering women an opportunity to join its job shadowing program, SheWorks.

The Central Research Laboratory (CRL) is seeking applications for its 8th world leading accelerator programme, supporting early growth stage product pioneers.

Retail Marketing Group (RMG), a UK-based marketing agency, has announced the launch of E:VENT Virtual & Hybrid Solutions, a virtual world experience that enables businesses to bring people and teams back together. Designed to keep employees, visitors and customers safe whilst working from home, the new E:VENT solutions provide a bespoke virtual environment for exclusive, secure and innovative events, and offers intimate board meetings to full-scale conference productions, as well as interactive learning, employee engagement, and celebratory experiences.

Class-ify, a new digital platform ‘powered by human connection’, has been launched by former Just Eat employees to enable fitness instructors to build their own businesses online. Set to revolutionise the fitness industry by providing a workout experience ‘powered by human connection’, Class-ify helps independent health and fitness instructors monetise their audience and build a global community, all from the use of a laptop or smartphone device. 

BLEND (formerly OneHourTranslation), an end-to-end technology-based multi-market enabler, announced the completion of a $10m funding round to fuel its continued rapid growth. Existing investor Fortissimo Capital led the round following a year of strategic expansion reflected in the company’s new brand and offering. BLEND leverages OneHourTranslation’s AI-driven language technology, 25,000 expert linguists, and advanced tech stack to help global brands establish a native presence in fundamentally different markets, worldwide.

Tractable, the AI startup accelerating recovery from accidents and natural disasters, has announced that former Microsoft CFO and Ignition Partners Managing Partner, John Connors, has joined its Board of Directors.

Generating £27.8bn gross value added annually, and employing more than 360,000 people, the West Midlands is the UK’s largest centre for Business, Professional and Financial Services (BPFS) outside London. Now, business leaders from Shoosmiths, Wesleyan, Bruntwood, CBRE and Birmingham Law Society, amongst others, are working with the region’s just under 12,500 leading tech and digital companies to see how they can integrate AI and advanced technology into their everyday activities.

Ten exciting startups are pioneering new green technologies with support from 5PRING and its Green Innovation Challenge programme, set-up in partnership with Suez, a large utilities company, and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) last year.

Xero has announced the acquisition of Planday, a workforce management platform with more than 350,000 employee users across Europe and the UK that simplifies employee scheduling, allowing businesses to forecast and manage their labour costs.

The UK is heading towards a ‘burnout breakpoint’ with search data exposing alarming levels of people seeking help. As we quickly approach the anniversary of the first lockdown, Chris Parke, CEO of Talking Talent who discovered these findings is urging businesses to support employees and implement practical solutions to prevent similar levels throughout 2021 and hordes of workers reaching their breakpoint.

Today saw what we had all been waiting for, the budget announcement from the Chancellor Rishi Sunak - but what does that mean for the economy and small businesses? 

Here, Andy Hodgetts, Director of Corporate Finance at Buzzacott, the accountancy firm advising fast-growth companies, shares his thoughts on the recent M&A rush ahead of today's Budget and the corporation tax update.

Research from Ezra, a global provider of digital coaching, has revealed to what extent the current pandemic could change the face of the professional workplace on a permanent basis. The trend of working remotely is one that has been largely forced on us due to lockdown restrictions and concerns over safety. However, for many it means more time at home and a positive increase in the work-life balance.

Rewire, a fintech startup that develops cross-border online banking services tailored for the needs of expatriate workers worldwide, has announced a Series B funding round of $20m and significant line of credit from a leading bank. Rewire was founded with the vision to empower every migrant to fulfill their financial potential for a better future, for themselves and their families.

Following news this week that people have been rushing to book holidays for summer, data from absence management platform, e-days reveals that Mondays, already the day people are most likely to book holiday, will see a spike in holiday bookings post government announcements in 2021. So far Monday January 4th, the first day back after the Christmas break, and Monday 22nd February, following the UK government’s announcement of the roadmap out of lockdown, have witnessed the biggest leap in number of leave bookings.

Eight 5G solution providers have joined the SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre (SONIC), a joint programme between Digital Catapult and Ofcom to test interoperability and integration of open networking solutions.

Ahead of the budget on Wednesday, reputation management consultancy, Lansons and strategic insight agency, Opinium polled 500 senior business leaders to gauge their views on current economic support and understand what they want out of the budget.

A brand new recruitment agency has launched in the West Midlands with the ambition of making the industry a more community-conscious one. 70/30 Club is leading the way in ethical recruitment, committing 70% of its profits to local charities every year, whilst delivering talent acquisition for a range of organisations.

Future Acres - a new startup bringing sustainable agricultural robotics to the farm industry in order to optimise workforce efficiency and safety - has launched to raise up to $3m in seed capital via equity crowdfunding site, SeedInvest. The company is producing an autonomous, electric agricultural robotic harvest companion, named Carry, to help farmers gather hand-picked crops faster and with less physical demand.

A tech spin-out whose cloud based data capture and analysis technology is unlocking five-fold increases in manufacturing factory floor productivity in the North of England has secured a significant six-figure investment from a combined Angel and Venture Capital syndicate, valuing the company at £2m.

With pupils set to go back to school on 8th March, there are a number of safety measures schools need to implement to ensure the health and wellness of staff, students and school communities. 

A revolutionary new technology that allows customers to order products or access information with just the tap of a smartphone could transform the online marketplace, an expert says.

Gophr, the UK's fastest-growing last-mile delivery provider, has raised £4m led by Nauta Capital, assisted by The ScaleUp Accelerator and White Horse Capital.   

Bumble’s CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd, became the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire last week– a huge milestone for women in business everywhere. But how many female decision-makers are there in the boardrooms of some of the biggest companies in technology, entertainment and e-commerce?

Tech Nation​, the UK network for ambitious tech entrepreneurs, has announced the ten early-stage scaleup winners of its nationwide competition, Rising Stars. These companies have been selected because they are at the forefront of UK technology, across a range of subsectors, providing solutions such as digitally connecting healthcare workers with communities, digital recruitment for schools, and tools for online content creators.

Xero, the global small business platform, is calling for urgent action to put small businesses at the centre of the UK economic recovery - after new Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) data finds revenue slowed further in January to 9.3% below levels seen a year ago.

Axis Spine Technologies (AST) has raised £2.2m in a funding round led by ACF Investors, with follow-on investment from Mercia’s EIS funds. Mercia was the first investor when Axis was founded by Jon Acros in 2017. This is the first investment from ACF Investors’ new Delta Fund, a fast-track investment fund designed for high potential UK businesses that have been backed by a syndicate of angel investors with deep sector knowledge.

Londoners are huge cryptocurrency fans, having bought more of the digital asset than any other region in the UK according to a new national survey, while cautious Scots have bought the least.

Waze, the platform bringing together communities on and off the road, has announced updates to Waze Ads Starter, its advertising solution tailored specifically to small businesses. The features take into account the unique challenges faced by small businesses now, making it easier for them to connect with existing customers and attract new ones while making the most of their marketing investment.

Rental deposit fintech, Fronted has launched this month, becoming the second company to be powered by Yobota’s core banking platform. Founded in 2016, London-based technology firm, Yobota has built a fast, flexible, cloud-native core banking platform that allows clients to create and run innovative financial products. 

Step Anywhere 2021 is on for March 29th, 30th, and 31st, and fully online! Organised by the team behind Step Conference, The Leading Online Tech Festival For Emerging Markets will bring together over 1500 international attendees, 100 showcasing startups and global players in healthtech, edtech, fintech, foodtech, smart cities, digital media, and more. 

LOT Network, the international community of the world’s leading high-tech companies committed to protecting its members from costly litigation from patent assertion entities (PAEs, also known as 'patent trolls'), has announced that ByteDance has joined its 1,200 member organisation. In doing so, the company is taking proactive measures to protect itself against potential litigation from PAEs, and inoculating themselves from a pool of over three million patents.

Design Pickle, the leading graphic design and creative services subscription platform, has released information about their acquisition of British design services company, Design Hero. The acquisition marks the first of its kind for Design Pickle, paving the way for expansion into the UK and European creative markets.

Sustainable events agency and consultancy, Legacy Events, is set to launch its new innovative marketplace, which includes everything needed to organise a successful sustainable event, in one place.

The DIY system, launched by Edinburgh-based Boundary, was designed and created by a team of experts brought together by Boundary to solve the problems associated with traditional alarm systems and using leading-edge technology thinking.

A new report by Claromentis has revealed that 73% of UK workers want to split their time between home and office working after the pandemic. Unilever, Twitter, Square and many more companies have announced their staff may never return to working a five-day week in the office. But what do workers want?

New data from global ticketing platform, Eventbrite, shows that British entrepreneurs haven’t stopped training and networking because of the pandemic, with over 150,000 attending online startup events since the beginning of the first lockdown in early 2020.

The Quarterly OurCrowd Jobs Index has released indicates that OurCrowd-backed high-tech startups are seeking to fill hundreds of positions despite record-high unemployment in the overall economy. This is the first quarterly jobs survey by OurCrowd, venture investing platform.

Vivacity Labs, the London-based tech company which uses artificial intelligence to improve traffic insights and safety, has announced it has secured £5m of Series A funding in a VC round led by investor Mobeus, with additional funding from existing investors Downing Ventures and London Co-Investment Fund.

Mazuma, online subscription accountancy service, has announced the launch of a new technology offering, featuring a modern, highly accessible app and a contemporary website. Both of which outline additional resources and provide further advice for small business owners across the UK.

incspaces, a space as a service operator with locations across London and Manchester, is opening a brand new 24/7 flexible workspace in the heart of Leeds. The 19,000 square foot venue will play host to both young startups and established businesses embracing the ever growing flexibility of the future of work.

Ally.io, a hypergrowth technology company specialising in goal-setting and business execution software, has announced a $50M (£36.5M) Series C funding round led by Greenoaks Capital. Tiger Global, who led the company’s Series B round, and Madrona Venture Group also joined the round, as well as previous investors Accel, Addition Ventures, Founders’ Co-Op, and Vulcan Capital. 

Vinehealth, a platform to improve the quality of life and survival of cancer patients through highly personalised patient support, has secured a £1m Biomedical Catalyst grant to deliver their innovative cancer companion app to four NHS trusts within a randomised controlled trial, thus generating robust evidence of the platform’s clinical and cost effectiveness in improving patient self-management and data collection.

Cambridge GaN Devices (CGD) has raised $9.5m in Series A funding. The investment was co-led by IQ Capital, Parkwalk Advisors and BGF, and includes investment from Foresight Williams, Cambridge Enterprise, Martlet Capital, Cambridge Angels and Cambridge Capital Group. The funding will be used by CGD to expand its product portfolio of energy-efficient power devices and to double the size of its team.

A cloud-based CRM provider has announced another instalment of their successful virtual event series, designed to help UK businesses tackle 2021 and set strong foundations following a challenging 2020. BuddyCRM’s Build Back Better - Sales Masterclass will commence on 18th March 2021 and is free for delegates to attend. 

Social impact startup OX has successfully secured three grants with a total project value of £1.2m in the past four months. The grants, awarded by Innovate UK and the Advanced Propulsion Centre, will see OX work on separate projects with Potenza Technology and Penso to expedite the delivery of the world’s first clean transport ecosystem. 

Over half (54%) of UK workers say they are more open to taking on a side hustle or freelance work since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research from Fiverr. Over 2 in 5 (44%) agree they are more open to it, due to the flexibility that working from home has given them.

PatchAi and Roche Italia aim together for the digital transformation of the Italian healthcare system with an innovative solution for patients affected by oncological diseases.

Job discovery platform, DirectlyApply is celebrating its second birthday after enjoying its most successful year to date. Despite lockdown and the fall in available jobs, DirectlyApply experienced rapid growth over the last 12 months, seeing revenue jump by 1,400%.

Two-thirds (66%) of UK companies have admitted to commissioning market research in 2020 which has never been used due to the disruptions and delays caused by COVID-19. This is according to new research from Stravito, a provider of knowledge management software for insights.

Creative industries are under huge pressure caused by the pandemic. For the SMB sector, there’s never been a greater need to cut costs and futureproof themselves against further economic uncertainty in the coming months.

With the shipping and logistics sector rapidly growing due to the growth of the e-commerce industry, the need for optimal packaging solutions is becoming more important than ever. The primary single use material used to secure pallets across Europe is stretch wrap but most businesses are moving towards more environmentally friendly and reusable packaging solutions.

Ahead of the UK’s 2021 Budget and Economic Recovery Plan, new research from Sage has revealed the tough conditions that will be facing Small and Medium sized Businesses (SMEs) well into the second half of 2021. The research highlights how the latest lockdown has further divided the outlook of UK SMEs, with one-third worse off than November, one-third in a similar position and one-third better off.

Former joint venture and technical delivery partners of Delete have set up a new digital transformation business based out of Leeds and Romania following the acquisition of Delete’s shareholding. 

Israel’s booming cannabis industry has recorded a significant achievement with the signing of the first of a kind genetics breeding deal. Israeli Agtech startup, RCK, which specialises in science-based cannabis genetics, signed an agreement with SeedTech, a Dutch seed company, for developing unique cannabis strains in the form of elite hybrid seeds.

OneTech, an organisation connecting London’s underrepresented communities with opportunities in tech startups, have today launched TryTech. The new online platform will help young people, aged 18-24, facing multiple disadvantages in the UK, to find motivation, develop their knowledge and skills towards a career in the technology and social enterprise sectors. The platform will be available in London first, before rolling out across the UK. 

Low-cost wealth manager, InvestEngine is urging small businesses to consider stockmarket investing, as interest rates on banks' business accounts hit record lows. The average interest rate on instant-access business savings accounts is now just 0.06%, according to Bank of England data published this week.

Xero has launched a new matchmaking tool to match small business owners with the right accountant or bookkeeper based on their industry, maturity and growth expertise.

New research from Uswitch has revealed that crowdfunding sites have helped fund 6 million projects in the past year and are now central to many business plans. It is becoming more popular than ever around the world to use crowdfunding as an investment source for businesses. Not only does it have its financial benefits, using crowdfunding is a great way to gain visibility and build a customer base for startups.

Wolves Summit has confirmed its return from 24th to 26th March 2021 in Warsaw with two days dedicated to startups, investors, and executives from the tech ecosystem. The hybrid format that made the two previous editions a success will be enriched with new digital experiences including multi-stage and matchmaking functionalities, an Investor Podium, dedicated Scaleup, Accelerator, and Community Partner Stages.

WeWork has launched Growth Campus, a new initiative aimed at giving a boost to the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The pandemic has presented a huge challenge for growth-companies: from startups to scaleups, to corporate incubation projects, the crisis has stifled momentum.

Michelle Cowan and Bren Adams, the Founders behind Yorkshire-based tech start up, Justo Software and socialsendr, have launched a crowdfunding campaign via Go Fund Me to raise £25,000 to drive forward development of their second social media platform aimed at soletraders, freelancers and small businesses.

OVHcloud today announced Sweden’s managed services provider Elastisys as an Advance Partner. This partnership will enable customers of both companies to access enterprise grade security-focused container services that are fully EU compliant.

European Health-Tech Innovation Week, sponsored by GIANT Health, is taking place from 17-21 May 2021 and is five one day hybrid conferences and exhibitions across Europe’s leading healthcare innovation regions; successfully driving improved healthcare outcomes and business collaboration by showcasing and championing Europe’s best healthtech innovations.

Small firms are being urged not to miss the deadline for this year’s Small Awards, a nationwide search for the smallest and greatest firms in the UK, across all sectors. Launched in 2017 by Small Business Britain, the annual awards have eleven unique categories across everything from longstanding family businesses and innovation-led startups, to social enterprise champions.

Private capital raising platform, HUBX, today announced the completion of a £4.2m funding round with the closure of the second tranche of financing. European B2B technology venture fund Basinghall Partners, together with Barclays, ELITE and individual investors, participated in the fintech startup’s latest funding round.

Winners of the 3rd Global Finale of the Global Startup Awards, the world’s largest independent startup ecosystem competition, have been just announced on 27th January 2021. Global Startup Awards was founded in 2012 in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

People across the country are being encouraged to show some love for small businesses as they face another challenging month in lockdown. With a government review of current restrictions not due until 22nd February, Small Business Britain issued the call ahead of this weekend’s Valentine’s Day.

With the unprecedented changes the COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted on the world, the fintech industry has had to deal with navigating the challenging climate as well as providing many opportunities for businesses and consumers to review their financial options.

And the Whatsapp ordeal is a cautionary tale for those who fail to recognise it. Since pretty much the beginning of human commerce, entrepreneurs have based their strategy around competing on two verticals, price and quality. Generally speaking, if your price is low, you’d expect the quality to also be low and vice versa.

73% of tech talent would consider working for a startup in 2021, with male tech talent more likely to work for a startup (63%) than female (49%). That’s according to a recent survey by Talent Works, which asked UK employees in a variety of tech roles what they look for in a job and where they look for new opportunities.

NeuReality, an Israeli startup developing high performance AI compute for cloud data centres and edge nodes, emerges from stealth today with $8m seed from Cardumen Capital, OurCrowd and Varana Capital to fuel the growth of real life AI applications running at scale. NeuReality will introduce its first AI platform early this year.

Uptime, the free app that presents expertly curated five-minute Knowledge Hacks of the world’s best books, courses, and documentaries, has raised a $16m Seed round to bring its platform to more users globally. 

AberInnovation has announced the six winners from the first phase of BioAccelerate 2020, their flagship business accelerator programme for biotechnology, agri-tech and food and drink innovations.

As one of the UK’s leading third-party logistics providers, Wincanton plays a huge role in construction projects all across the UK. Now, with the launch of Sprint 3 of W2 Labs - an innovation lab designed to discover emerging innovative ideas and tackle some of the logistics industry’s toughest challenges, they are aiming to focus on the construction sector specifically.

For anyone looking to make the leap into self-employment, the moment might just have arrived. Insurance broker PolicyBee has uncovered that online searches for freelancers increased over the last year, particularly for individuals with digital marketing skills.

Jolt, a leading online business school backed by Octopus Ventures and Balderton Capital, today announces that it has created over 400 work placements at some of the UK’s most exciting tech businesses through its bespoke version of the Government’s Kickstart Scheme.

Koa Health has announced it closed an oversubscribed €30m ($36m) Series A funding round. The round had a first close in October 2020, led by Wellington Partners Life Sciences and Ancora Finance Group, and has now been fully closed with key participations from MTIP and Akilia Partners, and further contributions from Creas Impacto, Sabadell Asabys, and Mundi Ventures.  

London-based 3D printing startup and innovation house, Satori has announced their latest collaboration, a collection of 3D printed necklaces, designed by 3D printing fashion designer, Ganit Goldstein and printed by Satori’s ST1600 3D printer.

Cloud Digital, experts in cloud strategy and digital transformation, is forging ahead with its new project, Earth Vision, after being awarded £99,453.33 funding from AeroSpace Cornwall to pivot from advanced cyber security into this flourishing sector.

WeMaintain, recognised for radically transforming the lift market, has acquired French PropTech startup Shokly, whose tech solution has revolutionised fire alarm maintenance and management, to increase its presence in the smart buildings sector.

Gelato, the Norway-born print-on-demand solution which allows SMEs, creators, and a new generation of e-commerce entrepreneurs to localise the production and delivery of customised products to customers based in any location in the world. 

One of the UK’s young tech entrepreneurs is speaking out to warn organisations operating across multiple sectors that the post-COVID business world may look quite different than it did before.

It goes without saying, but COVID-19 has affected women pretty harshly. Although everyone is facing unprecedented challenges, women in particular are bearing the brunt of the economic and social fallout of the coronavirus. Often, they’ve taken on the bulk of childcare during lockdowns and usually more likely to run businesses in sectors most affected by the pandemic such as retail, hospitality and leisure.

Understanding the company's financial value will be put under the spotlight in the fourth webinar of Angel Business Club's Insights Series on Wednesday 10th February. The club's financial advisor, Dominic Berger, will lead the hour-long session, titled 'How Do You Know a Company Is Worth Its Weight In Gold?'.

goss, a free mobile betting app which allows its users to bet on reality TV, celebrity lifestyles, trending events and more, has raised $2.1m in seed funding. The app, which launched in September 2020, boasts nearly 200,000 installs to date. Users wager coins (which they receive by simply using the app) on trending events such as the next elimination on a reality TV show. Coins won can be exchanged for prizes.

Scotland’s CAN DO Innovation Summit, held virtually for the first time on 3rd February, attracted 1400 registered delegates including entrepreneurs, academics, investors and innovators from across the globe.

Renowned technologist, investor, podcaster and business author, Arunkumar Krishnakumar a Partner at Delphos International, is releasing his second book - Restartup: A Founder′s Guide to Crisis Navigation - on the 4th of February along with his co-author, Maxson Tee. 

Creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree has announced the opening of applications for its eighth cohort of the Alpha Programme, a 12-week pre-seed accelerator designed to turbocharge the launch and growth of the most exciting and impactful businesses in the UK and Ireland.

Satori is transforming healthcare in the 3D printing industry by offering accessibility, cost, and time efficiency through its affordable, desktop-sized, professional 3D printer, the ST1600.

Over the next 12-weeks, 110 women who are working to launch and grow sustainable businesses in the media, digital, technology and creative sectors in the North West will be supported to kick-start their careers as freelancers.  

A new app that encourages people to make small but impactful changes to their lifestyle has launched in the UK, guided by behavioural science and designed to instil habits beneficial to the planet. The app, called Ailuna, allows users to be more aware of their environmental impact, and take science-backed steps to a greener lifestyle.

Small and medium sized businesses that have suffered due to COVID-19 don’t expect to recover to pre-pandemic levels until summer 2022, according to new research published by Santander UK.

Yorkshire-based tech startup, socialsendr, has evolved the functionality of its platform introducing LinkedIn to its social portfolio to better support clients with their social media marketing.

The world’s first causal AI platform, created by deep-tech scaleup causaLens, is being leveraged by financial services companies (including Aviva Investors, 2IQ, TIAA, CLS Group and a plethora of  prominent hedge funds), to automatically extract valuable causal insights from financial data and boost the profitability of their trading strategies.

As part of its Next Innovation with Japan project (Project NINJA), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is expanding its startup accelerator program (NINJA Accelerator) to Kenya, scheduled to take place in Nairobi on 7th April, 2021, in partnership with the Double Feather Partners (DFP) / Deloitte Tohmatsu consortium, and GrowthAfrica.

Israeli agri-tech startup, Edete Precision Technologies for Agriculture is due to begin commercial scale field trials of its artificial pollination technology in almond orchards covering dozens of hectares in the Australian state of Victoria. This follows the signing of an agreement with one of Australia’s largest almond growers. The field trials are due to commence in August when the almond trees begin to blossom.

A new survey by Arctic Shores has uncovered revealing insights into the candidate application process since the pandemic, shining a light on the challenges currently faced by hiring departments in the new world of remote working.

Plexal, the innovation centre and coworking space established by Delancey, has launched the Rapid Innovation Accelerator today in partnership with Omani innovation development company, AL JABR. This virtual-first, six-week programme will connect digital innovators in the UK with counterparts in Oman to help them develop technology-led solutions to the local challenges posed by COVID-19.

Hydro Wind Energy is launching a crowdfunding campaign on the Seedrs investment platform. This latest Seedrs crowdfunding campaign continues Hydro Wind Energy’s journey towards a valued funding round and the start of full commercialisation. The finance raised will go towards the technology and product development teams for power generation (OceanHydro Wind) and water desalination (SubSea RO Wind), as well as international expansion and to scale QuenchSea (portable water desalination) globally.

Over the space of just two years, 33-year-old Raimonda Jankunaite from Kent has established a thriving community of 150,000 women in business from across the world. As the Founder of The Women in Business Club, her ambition is to share the secret sauce to succeeding in business. This has led her to educate, inspire, and support thousands of female entrepreneurs from the UK to Australia and the US. But it wasn’t something she originally set out to do...

With the launch of Event Tech Live USA and Canada there are two versions of the show’s coveted startup competition this year, one on either side of the Atlantic.

An innovative North East-based immersive technology company is aiming to transform the way customers engage and experience entertainment, sport, visitor attractions, hospitality and retail.

Midlands based entrepreneur, John Whitbread, launched The Spotted App back in January 2020 to allow businesses to connect with consumers without having to rely on social media alone or the interference of predictive algorithms. Now, he wants to give back to the businesses across the UK by offering a free, life-long membership 10,000 businesses when they sign-up.

Levity, the no-code artificial intelligence tool for workflow automation, has announced the launch of its flagship product that enables knowledge workers to automate tedious manual work processes in an easy-to-use platform.

The new national lockdown has once again resulted in many Brits spending prolonged periods of time at home and learning a new skill can be a great way to boost wellbeing and mood under these restrictions.

CybSafe, the behavioural security platform that’s transforming the way organisations manage human cyber risk, has announced a £5.6m ($7.9m) Series A1 round. It was led by deep tech investors, IQ Capital with participation from Hannover Digital Investments GmbH (HDI Group) and B8 Ventures.

Insurtech startup, Indeez has launched #CoviSure, a COVID-19 financial protection product for independent workers, in partnership with the global insurance company Chubb. Platforms engaging independent workers and small business entrepreneurs, can help them to obtain financial protection against some of the impacts of a COVID-19 infection.

International founders can now submit their applications for the Future Hamburg Award conferred by the City of Hamburg. With this startup award, Germany's economic hub aims to support innovative solutions for the city of tomorrow. Innovative startups from around the world are invited to submit their projects until 31st March 2021 here.

New data from SeedLegals has revealed a surge in investment from family and friends over the last year, which has helped to prop-up new and existing startups.

E-days, the absence intelligence company revolutionising the way companies handle absence, has announced that they have been asked to join this year’s cohort for Tech Nation’s Upscale 6.0 programme. Over the next 6 months E-days will be coached by some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs and experts.

Navenio, the healthcare scaleup whose location-based technology has revolutionised workflows and has been shown to double the throughput of hospital teams, has been selected to join Tech Nation’s Upscale 6.0 programme.

Tech Nation, the scaleup network for entrepreneurs, has launched its inaugural Scale Ratio, which compares the number of seed stage, early growth and late growth companies in the UK’s tech ecosystems.

Ten of the UK’s most promising startups working with immersive technologies have graduated from Digital Catapult’s Augmentor programme, with a number of investment ready, disruptive and commercially focused applications ready to market.

EverUp, the savings app offering tax-free cash prizes, has launched in beta in the UK today to help millions of people to save money in a fun and exciting way. EverUp encourages and rewards good financial habits, through in-app games with real cash prizes.

Included VC, the first-of-its-kind global initiative building diversity within venture capital, has in a collaborative partnership with 11 funds from around the world, kicked off its Fellowship II. It is the only offering on the market that offers a nine-month, fully funded Fellowship to diverse individuals globally who are looking to enter the VC ecosystem.

New data has shown that December was one of 2020’s worst months for small businesses in the UK, according to data based on hundreds and thousands of small businesses.

Miso Robotics, the startup transforming the food service industry with intelligent automation, has announced the extension of its Series C round following high demand on the SeedInvest crowdfunding platform

Almost a third of Brits are curious about investing in cryptocurrency but are too baffled by it to take the plunge, according to a new national survey.

Data from Innovate Finance has revealed that the UK fintech sector received $4.1bn of investment across 408 deals in 2020. This places the UK second in the world for capital raised, and first in Europe. Although fintech investment fell year-on-year by 9%, this can be attributed due to the pandemic and subsequent economic turbulence.

The New York, Berlin and Tel Aviv based-startup, Dynamic Infrastructure has won its first contract in Australia and will deploy a novel AI-driven predictive technology for maintaining dozens of bridges and infrastructure assets in Horsham Rural City Council in the state of Victoria.

Embracing digital, diversifying products and services and accessing emergency finance – particularly Bounce Back Loans - were found to be the top ways small firms have survived the covid-19 crisis so far, according to a new report from Small Business Britain that offers firms advice on how to be resilient in a crisis.

Fashion production software company, SupplyCompass has announced its next webinar on 27th January at 16:30 GMT, delving into ‘How 3D will shape the future of the fashion industry’. The webinar will examine the potential for 3D technology to transform the current fashion industry and how 3D can become a more widely accessible tool that can be adopted by big and small fashion brands alike.

Businessman Simon Dolan is today launching a new campaign which is calling on the Government to scrap the payback of emergency COVID-19 loans taken out by crisis-hit SMEs.

Workspace accelerator, Huckletree has launched a new quarterly series, Huckletree VC Connect, which sees them partner with leading VC firms to help founders who are looking to raise in the near future with informal and personalised advice. 

London & Partners have announced a new partnership for the Mayor’s International Business Programme (MIBP) with Ciklum, a leading technology partner, to help London startups and scaleups expand internationally.

The past 12 months have presented unprecedented challenges for small businesses. Many have undergone severe hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some have closed completely. Even in this harshest of climates others have been able to keep trading, startup or even thrive.

Edinburgh-based robotics and STEM education startup, Robotical has bolstered its team with four new hires as it rolls out the latest version of its hero product, Marty The Robot.

With COVID-19 uncertainty carrying on well in to 2021, and Brexit seeing billions of pounds lost to the EU, job security is at a low for Brits of all ages. Individuals are turning to self-employment or setting up their own businesses, losing their jobs after time on furlough, taking voluntary redundancy or as a form of additional income.

Oculid, the eye tracking platform for remote user experience testing and marketing research, has announced completion of a seed funding round led by IBB Ventures and joined by the company’s existing investors.

As COVID-19 wreaks havoc on the UK economy, the country’s young people are taking matters into their own hands, a new major poll has revealed. The poll of over 2,000 British adults shows that one-in-seven (15%) young people (aged 18-24) in the UK plans to start their own business in 2021.

Tech startup, Maison Sport has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs in a bid to raise £400,000 as part of a larger £1.4m raise. COVID-19 has undoubtedly hit the ski industry hard, but the challenges have accelerated the trio of founders’ determination to make the startup flourish.

Right now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a significant rethink, rewire and reset - but it won’t happen with the same tools and the same instruction manual of the past.

Together Price, the digital identity platform for managing group subscription plans, has become another equity crowdfunding success, securing €310,000 in just 6 days. The platform, which tackles growing 'subscription fatigue' around digital subscriptions, is among a new wave of startups adopting this latest approach of crowdfunding investment and quickly exceeded its target of €200,000 from over 1,500 public investors on Crowdcube.

Spill has announced that it has raised £2m in a seed round led by Ada Ventures. Spill is a London-based startup which provides remote mental health support for companies through the workplace messaging tool, Slack.

GoDaddy, the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs, has released new research which finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge in young people starting their own businesses in the UK.

Business growth agency, GRO.TEAM, is waiving its setup fee for all new companies that sign up to their ‘growth hacking marketing starter package’ for a 1st February start.

EHAB have successfully raised £150,000 investment deal through Suss Ventures, the new investor matching service at Sussex Innovation. The platform helps construction companies to identify and plan for weather-related risks using decades’ worth of weather data.

Perchpeek, the AI-powered relocation agent, has announced it has raised £2m, led by early-growth experts Episode 1. Founded in 2018 as a UK property marketplace, Perchpeek was originally dubbed ‘Tinder for renting’, but has since developed into a completely unique, global relocation service that is transforming the relocation industry.

Small and-Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and freelancers in the creative industries have received a major boost with the launch of new programme of financial resources and support just as the country enters a new national lockdown.

Micro businesses and SMEs expect the beginning of 2021 to be tough, but are redoubling their efforts to improve their performance and become more productive. These are among the key findings of a new data set published today by Be the Business. Future editions will track changes in five areas of business activity, each of which has consistently been shown to impact on productivity.

Scale Space, the UK’s new community for scaling businesses, has joined forces with the University of Edinburgh to help unlock the innovation potential of startups working in the AI sector through a new Post-Covid AI Accelerator Programme.

The latest startups to join the ATI Boeing Accelerator have been announced with ten companies joining the programme. The startups for the second cohort were selected from nearly 200 applications, from more than 40 countries and range from Hull to Queensland, and the US to Germany. Providing solutions for the aerospace industry such as software to support inflight medical events and emergencies and behavioural science technologies to reduce airlines’ greenhouse gas emissions.

When Anthony Collias and Jacob Wedderburn-Day were looking ahead at 2021, one positive silver lining they could draw from the year was the favourable effect of the pandemic on the climate. The duo, who met at Oxford University, were already co-founders of a successful startup, but like many businesses faced severe difficulty and uncertainty of what the future would bring.

Otta, a startup that helps job seekers find roles at fast-growing companies, has revealed the most innovative companies in London to work for in 2021. Fifty startups and scaleups appear on the Rocket List, including tech unicorns Cazoo, Hopin (now a ‘double unicorn’) and Gousto, along with fintech firms, Revolut and Checkout.com, which are hiring for the most roles right now (79 and 68 respectively).

ETF Partners (The Environmental Technologies Fund) has announced a £5m investment in The Modern Milkman (TMM), a fast-growth UK startup committed to building a more convenient and sustainable approach to grocery shopping. The Manchester-based business delivers convenient groceries from independent and local suppliers directly to customers’ doorsteps in returnable and reusable packaging.

Uppbeat, a new startup providing free music for YouTubers and content creators, has recently launched. Removing the barriers to high quality, legitimate music, it is poised to become the go-to resource for creators across the world.

As a successful entrepreneur in his own right, Daryl Woodhouse knows the price that success can sometimes seem to demand. In 2010, aged 26, he secured a national role at a FTSE top 10 corporate leaving in 2011 to set up his own business, which quickly grew into a seven-figure revenue, winning 30 awards in the process.

SupplyCompass, the production platform for brands and manufacturers, has unveiled a major product update that now allows fashion businesses to invite and onboard their own factories, and streamline communication via an in-built Slack-style chat feature.

The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) has announced a new partnership with not-for-profit organisation, Race Equality Matters, which will seek to achieve racial equality in the workplace.

Spaceport Cornwall is seeing in 2021 with three new staff appointments. Following the departure of Miles Carden, Melissa Thorpe will be providing an interim solution to the position and will be supported by John Paffett. As well as this, new Cornwall Airport Newquay employee Luke Winfield, will be supporting the Spaceport team as Operations Manager.

Funded by the UK European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), CPI, an independent technology innovation centre and founding member of the UK Government’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, has announced the launch of the PROSPECT programme to assist Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the North East across a wide range of sectors.

Legacy Club is pleased to announce Startups Magazine as its headline partner for 2021. Following Legacy Club’s successful launch in January 2021, this collaboration aims to bring together Startups Magazine’s thriving community of start-up businesses and entrepreneurs with Legacy Club’s extensive offering of support, advice and mentorship.

Digital Catapult’s Future Networks Lab Challenge provides an exciting opportunity for internet of things (IoT) and 5G startups to respond and pitch their solutions directly to industry challenges set by technology partners Siemens and Arrow Electronics.

The UK should take advantage of new post-Brexit freedoms to create a world-leading copyright system, Fixing Copyright, a new report by The Entrepreneurs Network think tank argues. According to the report, modernising copyright would provide a boost to the UK’s artificial intelligence startups.

UK-based EdTech gaming studio, Kuato Studios, has raised £4.5m in a round led by Horizons Ventures and is launching ‘Panic Room’ - its first virtual reality title.

As SME leaders plan for the year ahead, Vistage’s latest CEO Confidence Index has found that more than half (54%) of Small and Mid-size Enterprise (SME) members in the UK and Ireland are optimistic that the economic conditions will improve in the next 12 months.

The growing demand for software development professionals has already resulted in a talent shortage of 40m workers worldwide which is projected to reach 85.2m by 2030. However, no-code solutions will allow anyone in the organisation to code cheaper, faster, and without any prior knowledge in programming.

London is at the centre of Europe’s burgeoning tech scene, with new research from Dealroom.co and London & Partners showing that London tech companies helped Europe to reach record levels of tech venture capital funding in 2020. International investors continue to look to London, with the findings revealing that the UK capital received more tech VC investment than any European city in 2020.

“If we have learned anything in 2020, it’s that consumers play a pivotal role in their own health outcomes.” - CES 2021. Consumers are now expecting accessible, convenient solutions that allow them to jumpstart their care - from wellness to healthcare - at any moment.

Initial income from digital gift cards in the US stores sampled by Rise.ai jumped by 299% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter of 2020, and by 135% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. Initial income rose by 558% in December 2020, compared to November 2020. Overall, while for the full year initial income more than doubled by 114% in 2020 in comparison to the previous year.

Hong Kong innovation and technology expertise will be on display at CES 2021, with 22 of the region’s leading entrepreneurs and innovators exhibiting at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) 44th annual Hong Kong Pavilion at CES. Held virtually from 11th-14th, this year’s exhibits will showcase why Hong Kong is the ideal incubator and launchpad for tech innovation and global business success.

New data has revealed that Birmingham has been crowned the UK’s regional startup capital for a seventh year running, defying challenges to business confidence posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

British cybersecurity startups raised £651m last year after the start of lockdown in March, but only £11.9m went to companies looking to raise investment for the first time, according to new research released today by Plexal and Beauhurst.

Freehand, a UK-based medical technology company, today launched a crowdfunding round to support international expansion for its pioneering robotic surgical camera controllers. The company is seeking up to £1m in investment via Crowdcube to establish a global team of clinical training specialists and expand its distribution network across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

FaultFixers have successfully raised a joint investment deal of £100,000 out of a total £150,000 round through Suss Ventures, the new investor matching service at Sussex Innovation backed by the University of Sussex.

Positive Plus One, a social networking app, has announced that a total of £260,000 has been raised to add the next level of functionality into the specialist platform for the international HIV community.

Humn is delighted to announce an additional investment from Shell Ventures and existing investor Marbruck Investments. This funding will accelerate Humn’s domestic and international roll-out as they grow their presence as the leading innovator of fleet insurance in Europe.

Investments in Welsh businesses by syndicates of angel investors in Wales has grown despite business uncertainty in 2020 according to the Development Bank of Wales.

Managing a fleet of vehicles is a huge responsibility. Along with maintenance and driver management, fleet managers need to be responsible for the protection and safety of their assets. Fleet insurance is essential when it comes to managing and mitigating the risks that surround your fleet.

Creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree is launching a new initiative to ensure some of the UK’s most innovative and promising startups have the space and mentoring they need to grow in 2021.

Promoting a new way of thinking! Heather Thurlby launches a female only directory to support and promote female owned and run businesses in the construction and trades.

British cleantech startup, Sunswap has announced a partnership with OX to develop solar powered mobile chilling capability for their zero-emission trucks in Rwanda. The collaboration comes as Sunswap launched their first public crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube on 5th January 2021.

Some of the UK’s most inspiring entrepreneurs have been recognised for their powerful contribution to society, the economy and communities.

New research conducted by Accountancy and Finance, HR and Data Analytics recruiter, Wade Macdonald has found that 44% of employees are finding working from home much harder, physically, mentally and emotionally, than being in the office.

Wondercise, the fitness technology pioneer, will unveil the world’s first Multi-Point Motion Match personal training system at CES 2021. Traditional smart wristbands and watches can’t tell the difference between a squat and lunge, let alone if it’s the right or left leg that leads. 

A Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) consultant, who offered free website audits to UK SMEs struggling to make ends meet due to the pandemic, has recently successfully supported his 50th client.

In March 2020, Halo PR and Communications received a call from their long standing clients, DOOH.com, a London-based out of home advertising agency. DOOH.com wanted to turn the out of home platform into a public service channel during the pandemic and, with such a huge platform, both creative forces knew this was an opportunity to turn their efforts to good.

Very few industries have been untouched by the COVID-19 crisis. With unemployment rates hitting an all-time high, many seasoned industry professionals who have built a corporate career for years or even decades, now find themselves forced to explore new avenues.

Co-working and business community platform, Othership, announce latest ambitious growth plans with £250k fundraise on Crowdcube. Co-founders Ben Carew and Arnaud Mardegan, are launching their first crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube in January, with the public fundraise going live on 19 January 2021.

Rebound Travel Technologies and The Rarotongan Resort Group today announced a strategic partnership to utilise Rebound’s platform at all of the Group’s properties. The group comprises three iconic South Pacific properties; Aitutaki Lagoon Private Island Resort, The Rarotongan Beach Resort and Lagoonarium and Sanctuary Rarotonga, all right on the beach. The partnership will directly benefit the resorts and guests alike in the event of cancellations by providing personalised solutions that increase guest loyalty and directly improve cash flow. 

UK small businesses can start recruiting and managing people regardless of location and without establishing a foreign legal entity. New Global Teams service from Employment Hero empowers SMEs to recruit, hire and manage their remote-first staff by tapping into talent pools across 54 countries.

Can we blame COVID entirely for startups failing or is it the investor system failing them? Stats from Beauhurst show that maybe now isn’t the worst time to be a startup?

A search engine optimisation (SEO) consultant, who offered free website audits to UK SMEs struggling to make ends meet due to the pandemic, has recently successfully supported his 50th client. 

Sustainability-focused, refurbished and pre-owned tech brand reboxed, based in Brixton, London, has raised £350k in pre-seed funding from angel investors.

International renowned performer, composer and producer who pioneered the British Bhangra sound, Kuljit Bhamra MBE has launched the world’s first electronic tabla.

With the reality of Brexit looming and questions still remaining over what kind of deal, or not, the UK may strike with the EU, businesses are rightly concerned about the impact on logistics.

A new app created to help people buy a drink for someone remotely has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help accelerate the development and scale of the service. 

Sustainability-focused, refurbished and pre-owned tech startup, reboxed, based in Brixton, London, has raised £350k in pre-seed funding from angel investors. This new investment means that reboxed has raised a total £500k in 2020 as it continues to gain momentum after its successful launch in September.

Five fledgling businesses which are all going places will get there a little quicker after winning £3,000 worth of business support. All five companies, which either launched or had to pivot or adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic, are set for a boost after winning a competition run by Leeds-based flexible workspace provider, Wizu Workspace.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, networking in-person has become increasingly difficult. However, this month, Glue Up announced it is transforming the way business professionals connect now and in the future with its new, game-changing Speed Networking Tool.

OVHcloud, the European leader with a global footprint in the cloud industry, announced today it joined the Open Invention Network (OIN). This engagement affirms OVHcloud’s approach in terms of Open Innovation and will strengthen the company’s ecosystem, by supporting a world-class open source innovation community.

It’s estimated that fraud cost the UK almost £190bn in 2019, with losses increasing by 57% in the past decade. The cost of fraud is expected to continue to rise, but what can UK businesses do to protect themselves against this illegal activity?

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of business decision makers are anticipating COVID-themed phishing attacks targeting their company to increase in 2021, according to new research from Centrify, a provider of identity-centric privileged access management solutions.

eXate, a London-based data software firm has announced a £2.3m seed round led by Outward VC, with additional backing from ING Ventures and Triple Point Ventures, to accelerate the growth of its DataSecOps platform. eXate is democratising data privacy for organisations by providing a simple embedded platform that automates the technical enforcement of data policies, solving the large-scale challenges created by evolving and complex global data privacy regulations.

FoodMarble, the digital digestive health company, has closed a seed investment round of $2.6m, led by Business Venture Partners (BVP), with participation from SOSV, Breed Reply, Delta Partners, Enterprise Ireland. The funding will support continued expansion into new markets, research and development projects, as well as the further development of FoodMarble AIRE, the world’s first personal digestive tracker.

Innovative technology developed at the University of Southampton is being launched on the world stage from 11th-14th January at CES 2021, as the world’s largest and most influential technology exhibition goes virtual.

A fifth of bosses are looking at using software that allows them to spy on employees working from home and monitor productivity. A survey of over 2,000 found 20% had already introduced 'remote tracking' or were considering bringing it in.

In the wake of recent retail closures across the UK, fashion technology startups are delivering much-needed innovation to help merchants maximise online sales and optimise unprecedented digital demand this Christmas. Retail data platform uSizy, is among the emerging startups poised to help UK retailers leverage technology to cope with record sales expected to reach £28bn, by first tackling archaic sizing guides.

An insider’s revealing and in-depth examination of Big Tech’s failure to keep its foundational promises and the steps the industry can take to course-correct in order to make a positive impact on the world.

It has been a tough year for everyone and with household bills typically rising as we head into the winter months, financial pressures are set to be exacerbated further. With the cold weather here to stay, on going COVID-19 restrictions and home working, Brits could see their energy costs rise by up to £300 meaning there is no better time to look at ways you can save money this winter.  

Some uncertainty remains with businesses who deal with the EU on the provision relating to data after the end of the transition period on 31st December. The UK government stance is that GDPR is and will remain engrained in UK law during the transition period and into 2021.

StartUp Studio, a growth programme for early stage tech startups in the South West of England, has been launched. Tech South West has teamed up with virtual accelerator, Activate and startup advisor, Skowt Consulting to provide fully-funded opportunities for up to 30 pre-seed companies a year to progress their business through the programme, and then pitch to regional, UK and global investors.

Angel Business Club will address the mental impact of laying the foundations for business success as its Insights Series returns on Wednesday, 13th January. The webinar, titled ‘The Mental Cost of Building a Business’ will be hosted by CEO of fintech app, SimplyPayMe, Kent Vorland.

Manufacturers supported by Made Smarter, the movement helping SMEs join the Industry 4.0 revolution, are forecasting the creation of more than 750 new jobs from £12.6m of technology investment.

SME fleet telematics specialist, Vimcar, has been ranked the 20th fastest-growing technology company in Germany by global professional services network, Deloitte.

InMotion, Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital and mobility services arm, has invested in blockchain technology firm, Circulor.

The data from Close Brothers Asset Finance’s latest research of 900 senior members of the SME business community is now available on its free-to-use SME Data Hub.

Recycleye, the intelligent waste management startup, has secured £1.2m in seed funding, led by venture capital investors MMC Ventures and Playfair Capital, with participation from leading funds Atypical Ventures, Creator Fund, and eolos.

Healthcare technology company, Vantage Health has announced that its AI-powered platform, Rego, has been shortlisted for ‘Local COVID-19 Response Partnership Award’ at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2021. The shortlisting recognises Vantage Health’s dedication to improving healthcare and effective collaboration with the NHS, through Rego’s role in managing hospital outpatient attendances during the pandemic.

Three in five bosses (60%) say that the pandemic has unexpectedly impacted the productivity of their workforce in a positive way, according to new research from Hitachi Capital Business Finance, with one in five saying their staff are now more independent since working from home (20%). 

A growing digital marketing analytics platform has been crowned as one of the winners of a prestigious award recognising the very best innovations that the tech industry has to offer.

The R&D tax relief schemes and R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) have driven greater innovation in the UK, according to analysis by HMRC. A review of these schemes, as well as the Patent Box, highlighted that there were both positive direct and indirect impacts on business for those that utilised the schemes whilst also spurring on innovation.

As COVID-19 continues to impact mental health and access to treatment in the UK, medical device company Flow is reporting a 247% increase in sales of its at-home, brain stimulation headset treatment for depression with 30% of its users overcoming depression during the pandemic.