Mouser Electronics, the New Product Introduction (NPI) leader empowering innovation, will be co-hosting a three-day online event to help UK-based startups test, validate and communicate their technical requirements to manufacturers. The workshop, hosted in partnership with the Central Research Laboratory (CRL), takes place from Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th December.

Brits are being called upon to offer vital support to small businesses as high streets reopen in time for Christmas. It also hopes to tap into soaring public affection for small businesses, as research from the campaign and its principal supporter American Express shows 59% of Brits support small businesses more than previously, following the major role firms played in communities during coronavirus lockdowns.

A new survey has revealed that 40% of people have considered starting a business in the last six months, however, 38% would be put off due to having limited knowledge of how a business is run.

HIV social app, Positive Plus One, has announced the launch of its new and updated platform, following World AIDS Day 2020. Positive Plus One is an app designed to help those living with HIV find and connect with people who share their story. The app now includes an ‘Events’ feature, which allows members to search and explore virtual events that they can take part in.

New to market, the patented Sanitiser Sentinel has now officially launched, making it the world’s first spoken and visual reminder for hand sanitisation, with clinical trials already secured at a number of NHS and private medical practices across the United Kingdom.

Ziglu, the personal money app has successfully closed its crowdfunding campaign, having raised over £6m from over 1,250 investors.

The 2020 CRL Demo Day with the year we had obviously had to be taken virtually, which meant it could have gone two ways, but having attended the event and speaking with a number of people who also did, to say the day was a success would be an understatement.

Global awards platform, Airwards, has unveiled the line-up of award categories for its inaugural year, ahead of submissions opening on 1st December 2020. The first unifying digital awards scheme of its kind to recognise best practice drone work, the Airwards categories span a broad variety of uses and sectors, including Technology, Operations, Supporting Services, specific Industries/Fields and Giving Back - with a People’s Choice category that is voted for by the public.

Aberdeenshire startup company, Legasea, has won the award for Subsea Company of the Year 2020, as part of the CorporateLiveWire Global Awards.

Amidst the chaos of the Covid-19 Coronacoaster, innovative startup baggl.com has pledged £1m worth of its barter trade credits to help support other SMEs during the latest national lockdown and beyond, with match-funded TV advertising grants with a value of £3,500 per applicant.

GovTech venture firm, PUBLIC has announced the six innovative startups selected to participate in the 2020 GovStart programme -  the UK’s only startup growth programme dedicated to supporting promising new technology companies to scale across Government and the public sector.

If you’re looking for a great Christmas gift for the women in your life, then a new book, Female Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Their Success, may be the answer. 

Students from Essex University have launched a new start-up to help the county’s small businesses become more environmentally friendly. They see sustainability as of the utmost importance in today’s society; sustainability being a social and environmental commitment to finding new ways to consume without draining our planet’s resources.

Research technology company, uMed has raised £3.7m in venture capital to help healthcare providers in the UK and US, including GPs, hospitals and health specialists, run patient research more efficiently while safeguarding patient data and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Monimoto, the smart tracker for motorcycles, is offering the chance for new investors to join the fight against motorcycle theft. Having smashed its initial Crowdcube campaign target of €300,000 early, Monimoto has extended its crowdcube campaign for another seven days.

Infogrid, the artificial intelligence technology company that automates facilities management and makes any building smart, has raised $15.5m Series A funding from a combination of UK and US investors. The round was led by Northzone with participation from JLL Spark, Concrete VC, The Venture Collective, Jigsaw VC, a global real estate investment group, and a large international asset owner.

Small businesses in the UK still aren’t offering their people enough flexibility, according to new research from Tiger Recruitment. While the pandemic has required many to work more flexibly from home, more than a quarter of employees questioned say they still aren’t happy with the flexible working options available to them, and men are just as dissatisfied as women.

Habitual, the UK’s first fully digital diabetes prevention and reversal programme, has announced a raise of £325,000 in funding, taking its total to £575,000, to support its public launch in 2021.

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and Sage have teamed up to launch a package of advice and technology to help more accountancy practices launch in the UK than ever before.

East London-based accounting practice, Moose, is rolling out a new financial package to local businesses with the aim to help those most in need stay afloat and hopefully flourish into the new decade.