Over the next 12-weeks, 110 women who are working to launch and grow sustainable businesses in the media, digital, technology and creative sectors in the North West will be supported to kick-start their careers as freelancers.  

A new app that encourages people to make small but impactful changes to their lifestyle has launched in the UK, guided by behavioural science and designed to instil habits beneficial to the planet. The app, called Ailuna, allows users to be more aware of their environmental impact, and take science-backed steps to a greener lifestyle.

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that change and disruption on this colossal scale, really has the potential to highlight the pros and cons of big business vs startups. While the startup cons no doubt include a vulnerability to externalities, through factors such as short cash flows and unreliable customer books, the flip side is the flexibility with which to grasp the new opportunities.

In the current pandemic, many businesses are facing financial hardship. A survey conducted by The Federation of Small Businesses show that just under 5% of 1,400 firms taking part in the study expected to close this year, equating to 250,000 small enterprises nationwide.

Yorkshire-based tech startup, socialsendr, has evolved the functionality of its platform introducing LinkedIn to its social portfolio to better support clients with their social media marketing.

The world’s first causal AI platform, created by deep-tech scaleup causaLens, is being leveraged by financial services companies (including Aviva Investors, 2IQ, TIAA, CLS Group and a plethora of  prominent hedge funds), to automatically extract valuable causal insights from financial data and boost the profitability of their trading strategies.

As part of its Next Innovation with Japan project (Project NINJA), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is expanding its startup accelerator program (NINJA Accelerator) to Kenya, scheduled to take place in Nairobi on 7th April, 2021, in partnership with the Double Feather Partners (DFP) / Deloitte Tohmatsu consortium, and GrowthAfrica.

The Christmas ads are now a distant memory but what we learned from the 2020 line up was that brands were, more than ever, vying for consumer attention at the end of what was a brutal year for business.

Israeli agri-tech startup, Edete Precision Technologies for Agriculture is due to begin commercial scale field trials of its artificial pollination technology in almond orchards covering dozens of hectares in the Australian state of Victoria. This follows the signing of an agreement with one of Australia’s largest almond growers. The field trials are due to commence in August when the almond trees begin to blossom.

A new survey by Arctic Shores has uncovered revealing insights into the candidate application process since the pandemic, shining a light on the challenges currently faced by hiring departments in the new world of remote working.

Plexal, the innovation centre and coworking space established by Delancey, has launched the Rapid Innovation Accelerator today in partnership with Omani innovation development company, AL JABR. This virtual-first, six-week programme will connect digital innovators in the UK with counterparts in Oman to help them develop technology-led solutions to the local challenges posed by COVID-19.

As we enter a second year of the COVID crisis, many founders are struggling to manage their finances amidst falling revenues and enforced redundancies. Whilst government support is being made available to businesses, there is plenty of uncertainty about the future and how to navigate through serious economic volatility.

Hydro Wind Energy is launching a crowdfunding campaign on the Seedrs investment platform. This latest Seedrs crowdfunding campaign continues Hydro Wind Energy’s journey towards a valued funding round and the start of full commercialisation. The finance raised will go towards the technology and product development teams for power generation (OceanHydro Wind) and water desalination (SubSea RO Wind), as well as international expansion and to scale QuenchSea (portable water desalination) globally.

Over the space of just two years, 33-year-old Raimonda Jankunaite from Kent has established a thriving community of 150,000 women in business from across the world. As the Founder of The Women in Business Club, her ambition is to share the secret sauce to succeeding in business. This has led her to educate, inspire, and support thousands of female entrepreneurs from the UK to Australia and the US. But it wasn’t something she originally set out to do...

The negative impact that working from home is having on British office workers’ wellbeing is looking likely to be a key narrative of 2021, as we launch into the new year with yet another lockdown.

With the launch of Event Tech Live USA and Canada there are two versions of the show’s coveted startup competition this year, one on either side of the Atlantic.

TDK Ventures, the investment arm of TDK, invests in early stage hard-tech entrepreneurs from all around the world to help accelerate their dreams and find solutions for the world’s difficult problems. For this issue’s Startups Launchpad feature, we caught up with TDK Ventures, Managing Director, Nicolas Sauvage to find out more.

If you’re an avid watcher of sport, like I am, you’ll know that there has been great strides made over the last few years regarding the integration of data and technology – whether it be the ongoing debate of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in football, to the humble sports watch that tracks your steps and distance whilst running.

An innovative North East-based immersive technology company is aiming to transform the way customers engage and experience entertainment, sport, visitor attractions, hospitality and retail.

As someone who has sustained their fair share of sporting injuries over the years, I certainly could have done with the Running Pod Pro (RPP) wearable device from PhysiGo, which has the ability to analyse my run and provide actionable insights to improve running form, and crucially, prevent injury. We caught up with CEO and Co-founder, Luke Stephen-Perrett to find out more.