News / SETsquared Bristol
The startups awarded SETsquared Bristol’s Breakthrough Bursary 2020
A diverse range of startups – specialising in edtech, femtech, fintech and more – are set to receive SETsquared Bristol’s Breakthrough Bursary 2020.
Angel Investors Club, Engineer2Engineer, Latchaid, Lurncampus, FluoretiQ and YelloButterfly will all join the incubation programme in January 2021, where they will receive tailored support to help access funding opportunities and grow their businesses.
The Breakthrough Bursary, which aims to support entrepreneurs from diverse ethnic backgrounds in accessing business support, is now in its second year and saw a 100 per cent increase in applicants and awards given for 2020.
Three of the successful applicants took part in SETsquared Bristol’s Enterprising Women 2020 programme, including University of Bristol student startup Engineer2Engineer (E2E), a global engineering hub for creative solutions.
Ilham Said (main photo), the founder and CEO of E2E, said: “We are super excited to be awarded the Breakthrough Bursary and with this award we hope to raise our first round of investment.
“The membership will provide E2E with expert level support and guidance, valuable training for our team members and varied support from a huge and bright entrepreneurial community.”
The bursary is funded by SETsquared alumni and covers 75 per cent of SETsquared Bristol’s membership for one year. The companies will receive bespoke business support, mentoring, strategic advice and coaching, investment readiness training and events, as well as access to University of Bristol expertise and a fixed desk in SETsquared’s shared office at Engine Shed.
Neciah Dorh, co-founder and CEO of FluoretiQ, says the Breakthrough Bursary is a good way to find and nurture diversity in the industry – photo courtesy of SETsquared Bristol
Neciah Dorh, the co-founder and CEO of FluoretiQ, a University of Bristol spin-out that is revolutionising bacterial diagnostics, praised the “proactive” initiative, saying the bursary “is a great way to find and nurture diversity within the South West founder community”.
Speaking about this year’s cohort, Steve Edwards, SETsquared Bristol centre director, said: “I’m pleased to welcome such a talented group of founders to SETsquared Bristol, with a fantastic diversity of tech, including edtech, femtech, fintech and healthtech. We’re committed to supporting tech founders from all backgrounds, which is not just the right thing to do, but is vital to grow sustainable businesses and the local economy.”
Main photo of Ilham Said, provided courtesy of SETsquared Bristol
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