Fed up with restrictions, isolation, cancelled holidays, not being able to make plans - everyone has suffered through the pandemic, quite aside from those who have been hit by the virus itself.

SurePay, inventor and provider of Confirmation of Payee (CoP), has raised a €12.2m round led by Connected Capital with Iris Capital, joining Rabo Frontier Ventures to boost the company’s international expansion.

Inspirational entrepreneurs from across the UK are officially kicking off this year’s Small Business Saturday UK, as the campaign gets underway with its 100 day countdown. Aiming to support, celebrate and send out a ‘big thank you’ to small businesses for the important role they play within communities, particularly throughout the pandemic, the 2021 SmallBiz100 is showcasing a diverse range of independent businesses from across the country. 

Play Well For Life (PWFL) are a for-purpose games studio that has developed an approach to the traditional board game. Merging the latest immersive technologies with the power of game-based learning, they offer a fun and engaging table-top game that stimulates social interactions and promotes mental wellbeing. The company is launching a crowdfunding campaign on September 28th to finance the next phase of development.

Tech Nation have revealed new data on the Tech Nation Global Talent Visa, providing insights into the global talent pool working in the UK’s digital technology sector.

Rocket Academy, a startup providing online coding courses, has announced it has raised $1.1m in pre-seed funding. The investment comes from a consortium of 50 marquee tech investors and venture capitalists including entrepreneurs Darius Cheung from 99.co, Marcus Tan from Carousell and Stanley Tang from DoorDash, former Singapore Ambassador to the UN Kishore Mahbubani, SEA tech leaders’ investment network XA Network, and VC firms Taurus Ventures and Hustle Fund.

Sure Valley Ventures, the venture capital firm that invests in deep technology and software startups, is pleased to announce that it has invested in a €3m funding round completed by Ambisense, the IoT and AI enabled environmental risk assessment business. BGF has led the round and, together with Sure Valley Ventures, existing investors Atlantic Bridge and Enterprise Ireland have participated.

A new series shines a spotlight on 25 of the UK’s most innovative entrepreneurs and their ground-breaking businesses that are revolutionising the way we live. An entrepreneur who invented 3D printed personalised gummy vitamins tailored to people’s nutritional needs, lifestyles and goals is just one of the highlights of a new documentary featuring weird and wonderful ideas that will change the world.

WeWork has announced that WeWork On Demand, the company’s pay-as-you-go offering to access workspace and meeting rooms, is now available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, and Australia. 

Instagram have announced the launch of its first Small Business Mentorship programme in the UK, in partnership with Small Business Britain. Aimed at supporting the country’s entrepreneurs and small businesses after an unprecedented 18 months, the mentorship programme will celebrate their creativity and resilience, as many have turned to Instagram to survive and thrive.  

Lenders could see the time they spend processing the average loan reduce by more than 85% with the adoption of open banking technology, according to research from Yolt Technology Services (YTS), an open banking provider in Europe.

Research platform, Atheneum have announced they have secured a £110m growth capital funding round led by Guidepost Growth Equity. Existing investors also participated in the round including Crosslantic Capital Management, Michael Brehm, Vogel Communications Group, and the founding management team of Atheneum.

Cloud hosting provider Krystal has set out a blueprint for the future of businesses and the planet, as they announce their millionth tree has been planted way ahead of its 2022 goal. 

LawtechUK has published a feasibility study and proof of concept for a new technological approach to the late payment challenges facing British business. This would work as an ‘SME online dispute resolution’ platform, produced in partnership with a consortium of legal, technology and alternative dispute resolution experts from the University of Oxford, Oxford Computing Consultants, Resolve Disputes Online and Jur.

Brilliant female entrepreneurs across the UK are being encouraged to apply to take part in a campaign which showcases inspiring women running their own businesses, and offers support.

UTP have launched a new eBook for SMEs, offering advice about how to future-proof their businesses.

OurCrowd has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC), represented by the Chairman of its Supervisory Board, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, Mikayil Jabbarov, to promote strategic cooperation in the field of investment by the Government of Azerbaijan in OurCrowd’s portfolio.

A new survey has revealed that 85% of SMEs in the UK are familiar with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but more than half are still not cleaning their data and therefore not adhering to the GDPR’s legal requirements. 

In celebration of Startups Magazine's 'Women in Tech' issue, Startups Magazine and Inspiration Space have joined forces to host Entrepreneurship Decoded, a live event that brings together ambitious female founders for an honest conversation about what it really takes to start and grow a brand in 2021 and beyond.

Startups Magazine will once again be exhibiting at The Business Show at London’s ExCeL from 24th-25th November.