• Twenty businesses reach the finale of Scottish EDGE Round 11 – the UK’s biggest business funding competition
  • They will pitch to an expert panel of judges, chaired by Rob Jones of FanDuel on 14th December at RBS Gogarburn for a slice of the £900,000 allocated from the total round prize pot of £1.1 million

During an intensive three-day long semi-final, 54 entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to a collective panel of 15 expert judges. The final twenty emerged as the most innovative with potential to scale and will now pitch to a panel of business heavyweights at the Scottish EDGE live finale on the 14th of December, including Rob Jones of FanDuel, Jo Bucci of People’s Postcode Lottery, Andy Lothian of Insights, Petra Wetzel of West Brewery and a Royal Bank of Scotland representative.

Around half of the finalists will be awarded a share of the prize pot, one of which will receive up to £150,000 as the Higgs EDGE special award winner for STEM based businesses, and another up to £100,000 as the Creative EDGE winner – a creative industries award sponsored by Creative Scotland and Cultural Enterprise Office. Scottish EDGE winning businesses will receive up to £100,000.

Also announced at the final will be the winners of Young EDGE, a sub-category of Scottish EDGE for entrepreneurs under the age of 30, and Wild Card EDGE for businesses who have yet to commence trading. Both offer awards of up to £10,000 grant funding.

Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish EDGE said: “The calibre of businesses we’ve seen this round has been exceptional and our judges had their work cut out deciding who should progress to the final. We were delighted to see our new Creative EDGE special award attract some fantastic entries form a sector that has traditionally been underrepresented in the Scottish EDGE competition, and we’re equally delighted to have such a cross-sector make-up of finalists. December’s Finale is sure to be an exciting one.”

Sir Tom Hunter, Scottish EDGE funder and supporter said: “Through EDGE we’re seeing a renewed spirit of entrepreneurship developing in Scotland, heeding our nation’s proud tradition as innovators. This round’s finalists are a real inspiration and it warms my heart to see the quality of entrepreneur that Scotland is producing. This is not just about money however, all entrants, win or lose, receive support packages to help them on their way and come back again to EDGE when they are ready to do so.”

Gordon Merrylees, Head of Entrepreneurship for Royal Bank of Scotland said: “Congratulations to all the finalists for making it through to the last and most crucial stage of the Scottish EDGE Competition. We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Scottish Government and the Hunter Foundation to continue to support such entrepreneurial talent, develop Scottish EDGE and breathe life into entrepreneurship across Scotland. These finalists all have the attributes needed to scale and transform into globally successful businesses and we’re proud as a bank in helping provide a launching platform for them to do just that.”

The Scottish EDGE Round 11 Final takes place on Thursday, 14th Dec at RBS Gogarburn. Free tickets are available at – www.scottishedge.com/tickets

The Scottish EDGE Round 11 Finalists are:

  • Animation Garden: Producers of a 2D animation designed to address the lack of positively represented LGBT characters on TV.
  • Araminta Campbell: A high-end textiles company focused on quality Scottish products using 100% British Alpaca wool.
  • Bella and Duke: A monthly subscription offering species specific, raw pet food direct to customers.
  • BUBLBag: Producer of inflatable packaging products which provide maximum product protection cost effectively.
  • Carruthers Renewables: Creator of the Carruthers Waterwheel, a hydro generator used to harness a river’s kinetic energy.
  • Cascade Water Products: Developer of micro-greywater recycling systems which process water from the bath and shower for secondary use in toilet flushing.
  • Dekko Comics: A comic book company which creates engaging educational comic material that removes barriers between engagement and learning.
  • DirectDevitt: Deliverer of the SQA Accredited course, Comedy and Confidence, throughout Scotland and the UK.
  • EBar Initiatives: Creator of the EBar device, an innovative, self-service beverage dispenser which pores the perfect pint in 3 seconds.
  • Findr: A photographer recommendation engine and marketplace.
  • Gin Bothy: Producer of Great Taste award winning gin in flavours such as Mulled Gin, Chilli and Amaretto.
  • Hyper Luminal Games: A Games studio that has developed Big Crown: Showdown, a brawler game set in a fantastical medieval world.
  • Industrial Nature: Manufacturers of a range of innovative, low cost, insulating construction products made from left-over crop materials.
  • StoriiCare: A software platform for elderly care, linking families with the care home workers.
  • Sansible Wearables: Creator of LiveSkin, a wearable sensor to aid decision making following force impact in contact sports.
  • SpeyCardio: A company undertaking the design, development and commercialisation of the SpeyCardio Smart Wearable Defibrillator.
  • T30 Fitness Training: Deliverer of Fatburn Extreme and GameFit – scientifically devised fitness workouts based around hormone balance and sports science.
  • The Little Herb Farm: A fine food manufacturer creating a range of sweet fruit vinegars using Scottish herbs and berries.
  • The Vegan Kind: Designer of subscription boxes and online supermarket specifically for vegans.
  • uFraction8: Creating design solutions for the biomanufacturing/processing industry using new microfluidics based technology.