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.