Two early-stage Dundee tech companies are among the biggest winners in the latest Scottish EDGE entrepreneurial investment competition.
University of Dundee spin-out company My Way Digital Health was one of 12 Scottish business to be awarded growth funding following a pitch competition at RBS’s Gogarburn headquarters in Edinburgh.
The firm – which received £80,000 – provides an online data-driven self-management tool for people with diabetes.
The tool provides real-time monitoring and is designed to flag both improvements and, significantly, deterioration in the health of a user.
“This award will make a massive difference to how we build our business and in accelerating its growth,” said Dr Deborah Wake, clinical lead for My Diabetes My Way, the original online platform that My Way spun-out from.
“We are already delighted by the contracts we have picked up since establishing My Way as a company but this will really allow us to take the product much more quickly to the international market.”
The second major local winner was Oxy-Gen Combustion, one of two companies to receive the coveted Higgs Edge award and a prize of £150,000.
Scottish EDGE chief executive Evelyn McDonald said the competition continued to unearth new business gems.
“The twenty businesses who pitched today demonstrated a commitment and intense desire to grow their business and create jobs and wealth for Scotland and I believe many will achieve this,” she said.
“For those who didn’t win this time around, it’s not a closed door.
“Over fifty percent of our winners to date are returning entrants as, we encourage both previous and new applicants to apply for Scottish EDGE funding and support.”
The special Higgs award is designed to identify an innovative science and technology business that the judges believe has global commercial potential.
Oxy-Gen Combustion is focused on designing and manufacturing a new generation of clean power generators to tackle emission levels in the current units.
The company has been working with oil giant Shell on generators capable of running on biofuels which reduce CO2 emissions by 85% and take out the vast majority of NOx pollutants.
In total, more than £1.3 million was awarded during the event, including a £7,500 Young Edge grant to Pitlochry-based micro gin distillery Badvo.
Gordon Merrylees, Scottish EDGE board member and RBS head of entrepreneurship, said: “The 234 winners from rounds one to nine have, thus far, generated an additional £57.23 million in turnover, secured £55.17m in additional investment, and created 981 jobs. We’re delighted with this progress.”
Businessman Sir Tom Hunter said seeing new ideas coming to the fore was exciting and showed the strength of Scotland’s entrepreneurial exo-system.
“I still get excited seeing entrepreneurs pitch an idea which they are incredibly passionate about, and we’ve seen plenty of that,” Sir Tom said.
“We set out to identify and support the innovators of today and the job creators of tomorrow, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
“Several of Scotland’s truly global businesses have pitched on the same stage as today’s winners and are creating a virtuous circle where success supports success through their commitment to Scottish EDGE’s pay-it-forward scheme, the EDGE Pledge where entrepreneurs help one another.”