Bagboard, the creation of former credit trader Ben Ayres, and advertising executive Ashleigh Bishop, are launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for the first sustainable rewards scheme that marries major brand campaigns and environmental impact, with a mission to make sustainable shopping the norm. 

A team of entrepreneurs just awarded $16.9m in Business Scholarships to help local entrepreneurs and small business owners across North America and Europe, and they’re not stopping there.

Tractive, a company which has designed a GPS tracking for cats and dogs, has announced the launch of a new activity monitoring feature, allowing pet owners to ensure that their pets stay fit, as well as safe.

A host of small businesses from across the country have been crowned winners at this year’s  Small Awards, which celebrates the smallest and greatest firms in the UK, across all sectors.

Zendesk has released the Zendesk Startups CX Benchmark Report, documenting how early-stage startups that invest in customer experience (CX) outperform their peers. The data shows that while there is no one-size-fits-all approach, startup success stories have one thing in common: the ability to provide more holistic support to customers from the beginning.

British Patient Capital has commented on the British Business Bank’s Small Business Equity Tracker which reveals UK VCs currently have a record amount of dry powder ready to deploy.

The Managing Director of Xero today has argued for a national campaign to help the UK’s 5.9 million small firms bounce back post lockdown.

NAEA Propertymark has partnered with REACH UK, a scale up programme, to help its members navigate through the world of technology by selecting the best startups and launching them into the marketplace.

Kennet Partners Limited (Kennet), a leading European technology growth equity investor focused on bootstrapped and capital efficient companies, has raised $250m (€223m) for its fifth fund, Kennet V in partnership with Edmond de Rothschild. The Fund exceeded its target and secured new investors from across Europe and Asia.

This year’s shortlist for one of the world’s largest annual competitions in sustainability, Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge, has been officially revealed today. The international top 25 organisations now edge closer to being crowned the overall Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge winner and receiving €500,000.

Focal Point Positioning (FocalPoint), a UK-based startup has built and showcased software that solves the accuracy problems that plague sports and running wearables.

London-based startup, RacketPal is on a mission to help more than one billion racket sports players and enthusiasts meet their perfect playing partners. The team is excited to announce the successful closing of its first pre-seed funding round worth £150,000.

Property consultants, Bidwells latest research has revealed that up to 20 million sq ft of new lab and office space will be required in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc within the next two decades to keep pace with soaring demand, twice the volume of the previous 20 years.

COVID-19 is changing the way SMEs take payments, with the use of cash payments having halved and online card payments rising by a quarter during the pandemic, according to the latest independent research from Close Brothers Asset Finance.

Workplace wellbeing expert, Kate Bishop is offering a free Wellness in Action Plan for all UK employers and workers to help tackle the rising levels of anxiety felt by those returning to work after months of working from home or furlough.

With all the doom and gloom currently out there, especially for a lot of startups and small businesses, Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars created the Summer Startup Fellowship this year in response to obstacles created, and elevated, by the coronavirus pandemic for current college students and recent graduates. The Fellowship program was developed in March of this year in response to the impacts of coronavirus on student job, internship, and entrepreneurship opportunities (50% - 60% of which were dropped or rescinded).

A call has been launched for applications to the Startup Leadership Program London 2021. The Startup Leadership Program (SLP) is a not-for-profit organisation which exists to support entrepreneurs on their path to success and make our world a better place. It is also part of the world's largest network of entreprenuers!

Monday June 29 saw the Demo Day of the exciting first cohort of the innovation 'Lab' by Transport for Wales (TfW). 

'There is not a common, comprehensive definition of what counts as social value, to frame understanding, benchmarking or reporting, and aid comparison of tenders and to determine best practice. This has given rise to significant disparities in what counts as social value activities, and no requirement to focus on improving the wellbeing of those who are most disadvantaged.'