Scottish EDGE invests £1.5 million into 40 early stage, high growth businesses

Scottish EDGE surpasses £20 million in award funding with more than 500 business supported

A total of 40 businesses with entrepreneurial potential have benefited to the tune of over £1.5 million after being named winners at the Scottish EDGE Awards, which also featured guest speakers and previous EDGE winners Darina Garland and Kristian Tapaninaho of Ooni pizza ovens in conversation with Ewan Hunter, CEO of the Hunter Foundation.

One of the biggest winners at the awards was Edinburgh-based Lentitek Ltd, a provider of next-generation cancer therapy treatment CAR-T. The firm, founded by Adam Inche, received a total of £100,000 in the award sponsored by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) in Glasgow.

In the Young EDGE category, for entrepreneurs under the age of 30, winners included North Coast Watersports and Robocean, who received the top Harper Macleod and Scottish Enterprise £15,000 prizes respectively.

Scottish Enterprise agreed to extend its contribution of £75,000 in the Young EDGE category for both rounds 19 and 20, enabling a further seven winners aged 18-30 to be supported each round, taking the total to 14.

Leah Pape, Head of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: "The high calibre of innovative applicants EDGE attracts is testament to its ever-growing reputation and gave the EDGE 19 judging panel a very tough job! Our congratulations to all the winners.

"Scottish EDGE has an important role to play in supporting innovative, high growth potential start-ups, and Scottish Enterprise is proud to help nurture the entrepreneurial talent that will drive Scotland's future economic prosperity through our continue support for the Young EDGE category."

Wildcard EDGE winners - the category for pre-trading companies, sole-traders and partnerships - received £85,000 in total, including Samastar which was awarded £15,000.

Royal Bank of Scotland has pledged further support to Scottish EDGE, the UK's biggest funding competition for high growth potential businesses, following the successful debut of the Net Zero category last year.

This year's Net Zero award was won by Edinburgh based Farm-Hand Ltd, a data driven farm-management platform used for connecting farmers and farming aggregators to appropriate agriculture solutions. Founder, Abhimanyu Bhavgava, received funds of £70,000 to further support the company's growth ambitions.

As the standout business from a circular perspective, POTR Pots received £50,000 as the winner of the Circular Economy Award, supported by Zero Waste Scotland, for its range of flat-pack, origami, self-watering plant pots and vases, made using recycled and bio materials.

Another winner of the night was Love Electric Financial Services Ltd that received £70,000 plus £75,000 advertising spend through the STV supported STV Growth Award.

In the Social Enterprise category, supported by the Postcode Innovation Trust, Glasgow-based company The Whisky Chairmen received £50,000 for its zero-waste manufacturing social enterprise tackling poverty and social isolation in Inverclyde.

The additional funding from Royal Bank of Scotland and Scottish Enterprise compliments the £1,000,000 boost led by The Hunter Foundation from several of Scotland's leading entrepreneurs last year. The final brings the total pot of money awarded through Scottish EDGE to support early stage, high growth businesses to over £20 million in the 19 rounds now completed with over 500 successful applicants.

Judith Cruickshank, Regional Managing Director for Scotland & North of England, Royal Bank of Scotland, said: "Enterprise is at the core of our economy, and the financial sector has a collective responsibility to foster an environment where entrepreneurs can start, scale, and thrive.

"The time to act on climate change is now and investing in high growth businesses through initiatives such as the Net Zero award not only has a positive impact on individuals, but on the future of Scotland as a nation.

"At Royal Bank of Scotland, we are committed to championing SMEs and each and every one of this year's winners demonstrates the passion, innovation and determination needed to help bolster and strengthen Scotland's economy after a challenging period, while also making positive strides towards our climate ambitions. Congratulations to this year's winners."

Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish EDGE added: "It's now our eighth year running Scottish EDGE and it's been a real pleasure to have supported over 500 businesses throughout this time. Scottish EDGE was set up with the intention of providing a solution to the funding gap for potential high growth businesses so we're delighted to be able to invest a further £1.5million in this latest round to an additional 40 businesses. The success achieved doesn't only benefit the companies but provides a potential much needed boost to the wider Scottish economy."

This year, Scottish EDGE received 177 applications. The finalists pitched to judges on 25th and 26^th May in front of a live audience.

Scottish EDGE promotes long-term sustainability of the funding pot through its pioneering 'EDGE pledge', inviting award winners to sign up to contribute a minimum of 1% from exit proceeds back into the fund.

Scottish EDGE is supported by The Hunter Foundation, Royal Bank of Scotland, the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise and has a vital role to play in the country's economic growth.

Ends

The total amount awarded in this round of Scottish EDGE is £1,525,000

List of this year's Scottish EDGE winners (alphabetically):

17 Seas Ltd t/a ThankBox - Thankbox, the product of 17 Seas, is a simple to use online group card and cash collection service. A digital way for lots of lovely people to celebrate one lucky person. Similar to the paper card in a physical office - £50,000

Argyle IT & Education Ltd - Argyle IT and Education Limited provides education technology for immersive and blended online learning in higher education institutions - £10,000

Atypical Cosmetics Ltd - Atypical Cosmetics combines proprietary artificial intelligence, natural ingredients and customisation technology to let users customise the ingredients in their skincare based on their allergies and needs. - £70,000

Audio Sun - Audio Sun are creating a device that will solar recharge 3 different types of hearing aid batteries, preventing the need for single use ones. The business will have a commercial side that supports a not for profit project in Kenya - £10,000

BGR Training Ltd - BGR Training is launching its first innovation, The BGR; a versatile, compact, and adaptable 3-in-1 fitness tool that enables anyone to workout anytime and anywhere. The company is continuing to innovate by creating sensor technology that will transform the BGR to become smart and connected with next-gen AI coaching capabilities.- £80,000

Bikerbnb Ltd - Bikerbnb's vision is to serve riders, globally, as THE one-stop platform for motorcycle travellers. Bikerbnb is more than a booking platform, it is a community where riders can plan the trip of a lifetime, connect with likeminded hosts, join and share rides and explore the world's most beautiful riding destinations. - £70,000

Boxfluence Ltd - Boxfluence aims to design innovative combat equipment. We want to penetrate the market with our first product which is a portable boxing ring. Boxfluence has ambition to create training wear such as gloves and head guards out of a sustainable material - £10,000

Caribbean Goods Ltd - Specialty green coffee importer from Guatemala based in Glasgow, Scotland. Selling mission-driven coffee farms in the UK to UK-based coffee roasters. B2B business launching the B2C section offering a gift box which includes a 360 Immersive experience and an AR professional coffee tasting session - £10,000

Continulus - Continulus makes Continuing Professional Development (CPD) more accessible, affordable and socially-conscious for all healthcare professionals. We bring global experts to you so you access high-quality, carbon-neutral, multi-format CPD (webinars, lectures, podcasts etc.) from the comfort of home, progressing at your own pace, negating time, cost and environmental impact of travel - £70,000

Danu Robotics - Danu Robotics is an East Lothian based clean-tech start-up. We are currently developing an intelligent robotic solution for the recycling industry to significantly increase recycling efficiency. - £75,000

Eslington Ltd t/a Perro - Eslington is developing a IoT wearable device, to be connected to a dog's collar or harness, and a companion mobile app that will combine to enable users to track and monitor their dog's location, activity and key health metrics in real time - £10,000

E.V.A Biosystems - E.V.A Biosystems produces cutting edge biomaterials using synthetic biology that improve on traditional plastics while remaining completely compatible with current industrial techniques and equipment - £10,000

Farm-Hand Ltd - Farm-Hand connects farmers and farming aggregators to appropriate agri solutions through a data-driven Farm Management & Marketplace Platform powered by geospatial & satellite, crop, weather, resource (energy/water/land) and user/community feedback data analytics. Unlike other marketplaces, our one-stop data management visualisation platform is cost-effective and provides farm specific forecasting and recommendations - £70,000

Forth View Designs Ltd - Forth View Designs ltd was formed to develop and commercialise a plasterboard wall anchor which is the quickest and easiest to install and has Patent Pending status with a clear prior art search and no examiner objections - £10,000

HUID Ltd - HUID is a sustainable material innovation made out of waste onion skins that aims to subvert plastics in single use applications. Currently our core intention is to replace plastics in food related protective packaging in supermarkets and large scale events - £10,000

Inteldis Ltd - Inteldis is an online-based, 2-year-old startup, aiming to aid British people and internationals, including people with disabilities in learning English and broader communication - £10,000

Lentitek Ltd - Lentitek's aim is simple: making next-generation therapies economically accessible. A unique manufacturing approach to improve viral yield will help lower the cost of the game-changing cancer therapy CAR-T, bringing it into the reach of the many. Lentitek will generate revenue through licencing and services to these innovative global pharmaceutical companies. - £100,000

Love Electric Financial Services Ltd - Love Electric is on a mission to make electric cars affordable and accessible. So everyone can love their car, love the cost and love the planet. It works like the bike-to-work scheme. Employees sacrifice a portion of their salary in return for a new electric car, typically saving around 50% - £70,000

Morphic Technology Ltd - Enable seamless outdoor group sports communications, regardless of the environment, through the development of innovative technology - £10,000

NextChain t/a Lemon - NextChain is the go-to mobile application to help chefs comply with food safety procedures. We are helping restaurants, hotels and retailers reduce paper, save time and money, and make chefs' lives easier - £10,000

North Coast Watersports - North Coast Watersports provides award winning cold water surfing experiences amongst the best waves in the UK. Anyone of any age can grab a board and come out and enjoy the beautiful waters with us. We also offer paddle board lessons and equipment hire - £15,000

Onboard.ID - A privacy-preserving digital credential infrastructure that streamlines that user onboarding process and facilitate secure data transfer in safety critical applications such as in the finance and healthcare industries - £10,000

Podspectrix Ltd - Podspectrix is a medical technology start-up developing a non-invasive imaging device for earlier detection and prevention of ulcers in diabetic foot disease - £10,000

POTR Pots Ltd - POTR provides busy plant-lovers with hassle free, self-watering plant care via the flat-pack POTR Pot and Vase, delivered through their letterbox. POTR provides modern homes for thriving plants - £50,000

Prozymi Biolabs Ltd - A food technology start-up that aims to revolutionise the gluten-free production using gluten degrading microorganisms and their enzymes. Our enzymes can detoxify gluten from gluten containing cereals, such as wheat and barley, making possible the production of gluten free bread made of wheat - £10,000

Recover Packaging Ltd. - Recover is the leading lidding film technology to offer easy opening, reclosing, and is approved as being suitable for kerbside collection for recycling. Currently all lidding film should be thrown away. Recover enables lidding film to be recycled as well as reducing plastic use and maintaining the freshness of food - £80,000

Robocean - Robocean is a subsea robotics company developing novel technologies to mechanise seagrass restoration. Our innovations remove barriers to large-scale seagrass restoration projects by reducing time and financial commitments. By mechanising seagrass restoration processes around the globe, Robocean aims to improve blue carbon storage and re-wild our oceans - £15,000

Rostra Therapeutics - Rostra Therapeutics is a drug discovery and development spinout from University of Strathclyde focused on treating infectious diseases globally - £80,000

Samastar - Samastar are developing a device to automate monitoring of microbial cultures in shake flasks. It's a resource-saving solution with AI integration for data analysis in real-time - £15,000

Savora Drinks Ltd -. Savora create Great Taste Award winning mixers expertly crafted for pairing with Tequila, which some are describing as the next Gin & Tonic - £10,000

Studio Vans Ltd - Studio Vans provide patent pending 'click-in/click-out' installation systems for converting standard vans to campervans for eco-friendly refits, through scalable (global) artistic collaborations, community & environmental initiatives - £80,000

Swarna Spice t/a Praveen Kumar- Produce frozen Premium Authentic Indian meals in Perth using Family grown spices and British produce. With 2 routes to market. DTC in the form of Monthly curry club members and selling wholesale in 70 farm shops/ deli/ garden centres in Scotland.- £75,000

The Organic Laundry t/a Hidden Lane Organic Brewery - Glasgow's first fully organic brewery. We use a zero waste brewing solution and utilising low environmental impact methodologies. Our use of 100% Organic ingredients promotes biodivercity and also fulfils the demands for Organic beers , a sector that has increased over 30% annually since 2020 - £85,000

The Whisky Chairmen - A zero-waste manufacturing social enterprise tackling poverty and social isolation in Inverclyde, by providing living-wage flexible employment. We craft bespoke furniture from whisky barrels - £50,000

Theo Health - Creators of smart-clothing and an app that allows you to measure, track and analyse your muscle development, even before progress is physically be visible. theo® acts as a motivator for the injured user, provides their physiotherapist with greater insight of their recovery and allows for remote monitoring - £85,000

Tuggs - Tuggs is launching the country's first freshly-prepared, insect-based dog food. Our products have a far lower carbon footprint than meat-based foods and improve a dog's lifespan by up to 32 months compared to commercial dry dog food. Tuggs meals are gently cooked using fresh, human-grade ingredients - £10,000

Voxsio t/a UB-OK - UB-OK (Formerly known as Voxsio) is a Digital Health company based in Edinburgh. UB-OK provides a Software as a Service Platform that captures clinical expertise and turns it into always available interactive support for patients. Increasing the impact of each clinician and improving the outcomes for patients - £50,000

VSL Ltd - VSL innovate in health, sports and fitness. Our first product, VShake is an innovative, patent pending supplement shaker that creates smoother shakes, prevents leakage, and defends against odour and bacteria, keeping it fresher for longer. Utilising our distributor, we will get VShake into health outlet stores across Britain - £10,000

Yaldi Games - Yaldi Games is a game developer with the mission to create meaningful games that go beyond digital to have real life impact - £10,000

Yesil Ltd t/a Propeco - Propeco helps home-owners manage the risks and opportunities emerging from climate change - £10,000

For further information, please contact:

[email protected] or call 0131 228 9713