Ignite North East has revealed the 15 early-stage start-ups that will be participating in its 2022 pre-accelerator programme, which kicks off in early February.
As part of the five-month programme, participants receive £10,000 in equity-free funding, weekly workshops, access to a global network of mentors and investors and £250,000 in credits from partners to support their business.
Funded by North of Tyne Combine Authority (NTCA), the programme is designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs who use innovative and disruptive technologies to build their business and achieve international success through mentorship, investor access, advice and support.
Cllr Nick Forbes said:
"NTCA is delighted to support Ignite with this programme which will grow the pipeline of potential new start up organisations in the digital and tech sectors across the North of Tyne.”
“The programme addresses the importance of a vibrant and high potential start-up scene and contributes significantly towards our wider plans to grow the digital economy here. It also supports the work of Ignite in developing a thriving digital sector as a part of this wider programme.”
“We welcome the scale and diversity of the applications received to date and the shortlisted entries provide a fantastic example of that”
“Already, the programme is demonstrating that there is huge potential for growth in an already strong sector for the region, and I look forward to following the stories of these startups as they develop and grow."
This year’s programme saw high levels of interest, with 112 startups coming through the recruitment process making the selection process extremely competitive.
Jo York, programme director of Ignite NE, remarked:
“The quality of applications for this programme was exceptionally high, making it a difficult process to select the top 15 early-stage businesses for this year’s cohort.”
“It was inspiring to see that whilst the country has been locked-down and furloughed, the entrepreneurs of the North East have quietly been building and thinking intelligently about the future. If this is anything thing to go by, there’s a very exciting future for North East’s entrepreneurial community over the next few years.”
“The content and the structure has been designed to make it as accessibility to as many founders as possible. We have a mixture of technical and non-technical founders, solo-founders and teams. Notably 40% of the teams have female founders.”
There is a wide range of sectors represented in the cohort, including e-sports, metaverse, healthtech, femtech, wearables, micro-vehicles, education and some of the teams are exploring technologies such as AI, Blockchain, NFTs.
David Dunn, Digital Catapult North East & Tees Valley added
“We are very excited that these 15 companies have been selected for the programme, this is a strong indicator that there is significant potential to grow the tech ecosystem in the North of Tyne. We look forward to working with Ignite to find more tech founders in the area through our outreach programme”.
Araymint is on a mission to decarbonise the fashion industry, and unlock the creator economy through digitalisation including apps, games, and immersive experiences.
Basepace aims to build dynamic fitness programs based on personalised analytic insights to end the one-size-fits-all approach to exercise.
Biblio helps training providers and awarding organisations save time and money by enabling the digital creation, distribution and storage of certificates.
ChainVerse aims to revolutionise communications within the Prison Industry by making the end-to-end interaction secure and affordable through using blockchain technology.
Doodle helps teachers worldwide to create, share and sell high-class learning resources as a managed service.
Grid Finder is a management platform for eSports racing league owners to recruit players and manage racing series.
if.Vehicles has created a micro vehicle for the final-mile stage of logistics, reducing van fleet sizes, staff shortages and environmental issues.
Krellian is a smart building platform, built on open standards, which aims to make buildings safer and more sustainable.
manyhands helps charities to build the digital tools they need to scale their impact, deliver their services more efficiently and and tackle the most pressing challenges.
Nest, co-founded by Sachin Chopra, Rashad Basharat and Callum Thomson, is a flexible rent payment platform that benefits both the landlord and the tenant.
NxSteps improves outcomes and quality of life through early detection of chronic foot and lower limb related problems.
Personar improves designers’ understanding of a client’s needs by allowing you to create synthetic personas for concept testing using artificial intelligence.
PolyBox digitalises receipts and offers dynamic reports for customers and retailers, allowing end-users to have a better customer journey.
Sportfin is a digital platform to help sport clubs automate social impact reporting by digitising their day-to-day activities.
Wobblefit uses Artificial Intelligence to help women with hormone based conditions, track and manage symptoms such as chronic pain, fatigue and anxiety.
If you’d like to find out more about the teams, or get involved in the programme you can get in touch by emailing northeast@ignite.io or follow us on twitter for updates.
