By Kristy Dorsey
Organisers of Scottish EDGE, billed as the UK’s biggest business funding competition, say there has been a noticeable rise in interest in its Wildcard award for pre-trading companies that is likely linked to the Covid crisis.
With the deadline for applications for the 17th round of the competition now a week away, Scottish EDGE chief executive Evelyn McDonald said there has been a lot of attention around the Wildcard category. First introduced in the sixth round of the competition, Wildcard awards grants of up to £10,000 to those with a business proposition that has not yet reached the commercial stage.
“The key thing is if it is an exciting idea, even though it doesn’t tick all the boxes as a business,” she said. “It is just about unearthing those hidden gems.”
READ MORE: Scottish EDGE Awards: The full list of tonight's winners
Noting that surveys have indicated a 24 per cent rise in start-up activity across the UK during the fourth quarter of last year, Ms McDonald said jobs losses and lack of employment security as a result of the pandemic have encouraged many to consider entrepreneurship as a way of earning a living. The crisis has also led more people to re-evaluate their careers going forward.
Noting that at least one entrant has developed a new type of face covering, she added: “So people are also thinking about what kinds of products have come out during the pandemic, and how they can be improved on.”
To date, Scottish EDGE has handed out a total of approximately £16 million in grant and loan funding to young firms throughout the country. That includes more than £1m that was shared between 33 winners in the last round of awards announced in October.
A further £1m is again available in the upcoming prize pot, with individual awards of up to £150,000 across various categories.
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