As we say goodbye to lockdown restrictions, new research from Sky Connect, Sky’s new B2B telecoms business, celebrates the strength and adaptability of British small businesses with a third revealing that the secret to their resilience over the past year is sheer hard work and motivation. The majority of the UK’s SMEs (80%) - which make up over 99% of the business population - believe they have shown resilience at its best throughout the pandemic.

As we successfully hosted the 2021 Hustle Awards last night at the Finsbury Business Centre (in-person finally!) and had a virtual livestream too, we saw five incredible startups take the prize across the five different categories, plus an array of talent that was also shortlisted and five amazing runner-ups. But not only that we saw our community again, and what an amazing feeling that was to be able to speak to some of you face-to-face!

The UK’s first-ever ‘Laptop Library’ has launched to help support and educate the nation’s most underprivileged children. The initiative, launched by grassroots charity CC Foundation in partnership with leading IT service provider Totality Services, will give hundreds of children access to use and borrow laptops.

Digital Catapult’s Machine Intelligence Garage programme is onboarding 10 new pioneering startups who are pushing the limits of machine and artificial intelligence to solve everyday problems. 

Greyparrot, the London based tech company disrupting the recycling industry by providing waste analytics to monitor, sort, and audit waste at scale, was selected among hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forum’s “Technology Pioneers”. Previous to founding Greyparrot in 2019, co-founders Mikela Druckman, Ambarish Mitra and Nikola Sivacki had built some of the most cutting edge deep-learning computer vision systems in the world. Now they are committed to applying this technology to the recycling sector, extracting the value of materials that would otherwise end up in landfills, oceans or incinerated.

Innovate UK is releasing new data which reveals the proportion of women setting up businesses has not only remained stagnant at just over a quarter of the total number of new businesses for the last decade, but seen a slight dip since 2010/11 when it was at 28.7%, compared to 27.3% today. Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards looks to help balance the playing field in business by providing more support to female entrepreneurs from across the UK.

Digital insurer Getsafe recently reached two significant milestones: With 10,000 customers in the United Kingdom and close to 200,000 customers in its native market, Germany, Getsafe is now the largest neo-insurer in Europe. The company currently offers contents insurance with five extensions in the UK and a larger product portfolio in Germany.

Over the course of the last year and a half, online shopping and e-commerce has, at times, been the only way consumers have been able to shop, leading to record breaking rises in people engaging with online retailers. This record volume of e-commerce purchases in 2020 has resulted in a corresponding surge in returns made by consumers who have either changed their minds or aren’t satisfied with their purchase after delivery.

The Hustle Awards 2021 is very nearly here and we cannot wait to celebrate with you all next week - whether that be from the lovely Finsbury Business Centre and Clerkenworks or from the comfort of your own sofa. From startups to freelancers, The Hustle Awards aims to recognise all the founders, co-founders and team members that have disrupted, impacted and taken a risk or a leap of faith with their business. But who has made the shortlist...

WeVee, the first fully-integrated electric vehicle leasing platform, which launched in the UK (home to Cazoo, Cinch and Carwow), is now valued at $14m after its latest investment injection to support the global expansion of the eMobility lifestyle platform, allowing it to broaden its service lines.

The NEXUS ESG Startup Programme is designed to give founders the practical knowledge to launch and scale their creative and digital businesses.

Kuano.ai, a software platform for rapid, cost effective quantum modelling of enzymes, has raised £1m in seed funding from ACF Investors, o2h Ventures and a syndicate of Cambridge-based angel investors. The funding will accelerate the company’s growth as it moves further towards commercialisation.

Unibuddy, the number one peer-to-peer university recruitment platform that has helped 770,000 students from over 180 countries make better decisions about their higher education journey, has raised $20m in funding. The Series B round was led by Highland Europe with additional participation from Stride.VC. Unibuddy has raised a total of $32m since its inception in 2017.

It has been a record first half of the year for VC investment into London’s fintech sector, with new research from Dealroom.co and London & Partners revealing London-based fintech firms have already raised more VC investment than any other year, in only six months.

European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund is investing €5m in the Israeli medical startup, NanoVation, for accelerating the development of its high accuracy respiratory monitor and for launching initial marketing efforts in the EU. The investment is part of the EIC’s strategy to identify and support high impact startups and small companies and assist them in scaling up game changing technologies.

Bia Care has launched its virtual clinic to improve menopause care by combining technology with personalised treatments. The remote care solution ensures that women are provided with the knowledge needed to control their symptoms, access clinically-validated treatment options, and are given the ability to share their experiences in a confidential setting.

The Government’s policy on face-masks will create 'misery and confusion' for workers using trains, a transport expert said today. Dash Tabor warned Boris Johnson’s plan to scrap mandatory coverings may also lead to millions of employees steering clear of public transport. 

MSDUK, an organisation that champions the inclusion of Ethnic Minority Businesses (EMBs) and founders in corporate supply chains, has partnered with Unilever, WPP, Google and Dow to launch the UK’s first accelerator programme focused on helping 300 EMBs to become supply chain ready.

An ambitious UK tech firm is aiming to take on US celebrity video calling service Cameo - by launching a 'bigger and better' platform.

Specialist M&A advisory firm Ciesco has confirmed that Chip[s] Board, which develops bioplastics from food waste, has completed fundraising to support the next stage of its development.