The best start-up firms in the South East of England have been revealed.
The inaugural awards, part of the recognise excellence in nascent entrepreneurship across nine 海角视频 nations and regions of the 海角视频 - sponsored nationally by BT, EY Breakthrough Incentives, Clearco, Dell Technologies & Intel, Moblox, Fearless Adventures and with regional support from SwagPack and the Moja Group.
The awards ceremony was held at the Students Union at Reading University and saw 19 awards.
The StartUp of the Year for the South East was won by The Rainforester, which has combined the pet industry and the world of conservation to create a completely new business.
By commercialising non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and turning them into premium natural pet treats, they can use the profits to provide indigenous communities with the financial empowerment they have long been denied by large conservation organisations.
The awards were judged by a panel of prominent judges, including successful entrepreneurs and their supporters such as Sanjay Lob of onHand, Jo Tutchener-Sharp of Scamp & Dude and Joel Dalton of Clone Media and SwagPack.
Originally formed as the Wales StartUp Awards in 2016, the Awards Series has joined forces with the to take the celebration of newly formed businesses nationwide. Creator of the awards Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE said the inaugural event not only celebrated the best new firms in the South East of England, but recognised the amazing entrepreneurial talent across the nation.
Prof Jones-Evans said: 鈥淚n our first year, we have had some incredible businesses enter that truly show the diversity and talent across the South East of England. The stories of how they started their businesses during the Covid pandemic were inspirational in so many ways and all these local entrepreneurial heroes are amazing role models for others to follow in their footsteps.
鈥淪upporting entrepreneurs needs to be at the forefront of economic policy at both a national and local level in the 海角视频 and I hope this year鈥檚 awards have showcased the contribution that startups make to prosperity and boosting employment.
鈥淎 huge congratulations to all the category winners and especially to The Rainforester for being named StartUp of the Year. Their commitment to sustainability and conservation signifies the contribution entrepreneurs make to both the economy and society, and reflects the growing commitment of businesses to supporting these global imperatives.鈥
Rob Shuter, chief executive of BT鈥檚 Enterprise unit, said: 鈥淚t has been inspiring to be a judge for these awards and it鈥檚 clear how many talented people there are out there in the startup space. BT is a proud headline sponsor of the awards and we鈥檙e really passionate about supporting them because startups and small businesses are so important for our economy.
鈥淭hrough our BT Skills for Tomorrow programme, we're also helping startups and small firms unlock their potential by providing support with digital training and boosting their business鈥 presence online.鈥
Full list of winners
South East StartUp of the Year
Business-to-Business Services StartUp of the Year
Consumer Services StartUp of the Year
Construction and Building Services StartUp of the Year
Creative StartUp of the Year
Digital StartUp of the Year
Fintech StartUp of the Year
Food and Drink StartUp of the Year
Graduate StartUp of the Year
Green StartUp of the Year
Innovative StartUp of the Year
Manufacturing and Engineering StartUp of the Year
Mobile and Emerging Technologies StartUp of the Year
Online Retail StartUp of the Year
Professional Services StartUp of the Year
Social Enterprise StartUp of the Year
Tourism and Leisure StartUp of the Year
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Rising Stars
