Edinburgh Napier project LastingAsset has been awarded £220k
An Edinburgh Napier University cyber project has been backed by new funding to explore ways of combatting phone-based impersonation and imposter scams – which cause substantial financial losses, privacy breaches and distress to people around the world.
LastingAsset, which began as a crypto asset security concept, has secured £200,000 in funding from Scottish Enterprise’s High Growth Spinout Programme and £20,000 from The Data Lab.
The LastingAsset team at ENU’s School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment (SCEBE) will now use the technology behind that original idea and spend the next year working with pilot customers to refine their anti-fraud product, before taking it to market.
Among other privacy features, it uses encryption technology to prevent rogue actors from impersonating an organisation’s phone number to dupe victims.
According to the UK Government’s latest fraud strategy, unsuspecting individuals and organisations lost £2.35bn through fraud in 2021, with the banking and finance industry losing £1.3bn.
Project leader Dr Zakwan Jaroucheh said: “Our research team were initially working on a custodial solution for crypto assets. While this remains a problem that needs addressing, we wanted to provide a solution to a more pressing societal challenge. This is when we pivoted to using the same underlying technologies to address the problem of impersonation phone call scams.
“In today’s modern digital world, businesses often find themselves unable to effectively protect their customers from cyber fraud, which tarnishes their reputation and their ability to use the voice calls effectively.
“The LastingAsset solution uses blockchain and homomorphic encryption technologies to effectively combat phone number spoofing, voice-based impersonation and cloning scams, without requiring the organisation to build a new security infrastructure.
“With this, any organisation that communicates with their customers by voice can assure customers that they are speaking with a genuine representative and not a scammer.”
Nanik Ramchandani of Imagine Ventures, who leads the project’s commercial team, said:“We are beginning trials with two pilot customers and opening our waiting list for additional pilots.
“It is going to be an incredibly exciting and rewarding journey over the coming months, as we translate our proof of concept and vision into a valuable offering to clients and stop scammers from defrauding fellow citizens.”
Recently named one of the top 10 universities in the UK for spin-out activity, ENU has supported the creation of many cyber spin-out businesses over the last 10 years, including Cyacomb, MemCrypt, Symphonic Software and ZoneFox. Four years ago, the university created the first identity lab in the world, the Blockpass ID Lab, which has focused on creating more trustworthy systems.
Supporting LastingAsset’s progression from research project to a spin-out business is ENU’s Professor Bill Buchanan, alongside Dr Cathy Higginson, Business Development and Relationship Manager at the University’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise department.
This latest funding received from Scottish Enterprise and The Data Lab will help the LastingAsset project team to integrate their solution with multiple early pilot customers.
Over the next eight to 12 months, they expect to work with more than 30 initial pilot customers in securing their voice communication. This process will allow the team to refine the architecture of their product; test their solution and increase its credibility. At the end of this period, they anticipate product-market fit and the ability to rapidly scale their offering.
Leah Pape, Head of High Growth Services at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Edinburgh Napier University has an enviable track record of producing companies whose products and platforms direct cutting-edge technological advancements into efforts to combat increasingly sophisticated fraudsters.
“Our grant builds on the funding and advice provided previously to LastingAsset at its earliest stages and underlines Scottish Enterprise’s commitment to supporting the development of the high-growth industries of the future.”
The Data Lab, Scotland’s innovation centre for data and AI, also recently funded £20k to help LastingAsset develop their proof of concept.
Brian Hills, CEO of The Data Lab, said:“Online scamming can have devastating impacts on unsuspecting victims’ finances and mental wellbeing, with recent advances in AI exacerbating the problem.
“Preventing people from falling victim to these crimes in the first place is key. The Data Lab were delighted to support the LastingAsset team at Edinburgh Napier University to develop their groundbreaking technology further to tackle online scamming and reduce the number of victims and financial losses.”
Glasgow event in November helps businesses to navigate AI and emerging tech
Global experts including DowJones emerging technology director and a top New York based virtual AI fashion expert will join Scottish businesses at Scotland’s annual CAN DO Innovation Summit, on 7th November.
Now in its fourth year and in-person for the first time since the pandemic, the event at Glasgow’s Science Centre connects start-ups and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with leading innovators and academics to explore how new technologies, leadership and the right business cultures can tackle the challenges faced by Scottish industry and society.
More than 800 delegates and 40 speakers are expected to take part in the CAN DO Innovation Summit, which is funded by Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise and Innovate UK.
The Summit has fast-become a must attend for Scottish businesses from all sectors, with this year’s event providing valuable insights on innovating to build resilience in a tough economic climate and navigating an increasingly virtual and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled world.
This year’s free to attend summit is spearheaded by female keynote speakers, with a focus on rapid advances towards a tech-driven, sustainable and virtual future.The three keynote speakers are:
Elena Corchero, Director of Emerging Tech at DowJones Live and Globally Recognised Tech Futurist (above).
Edafe Onerhime, Data Specialist and Global Financial Services Lead, Top Twenty Most Influential Women in Data 2023.
Opé M, Fashion Creative and Futurist and Top 3 Finalist New York AI Fashion Week 2023.
Dr Susie Mitchell, Programme Director, Glasgow City of Science and Innovation (lead agency for the CAN DO Innovation Summit) said: “Scotland is already well regarded as a leader in innovation, but the pace of change has hugely accelerated.
“This summit will support start-ups and SMEs to make the most of AI and emerging technologies, key tools for businesses to thrive in a challenging economic climate.
“I’m also immensely proud to launch the summit with a line-up of local and global female experts, showcasing the talented women in tech and helping to inspire the next generation of diverse leaders.”
Other speakers and panellists for the event include Nick Rosa, Industry Technology Innovation Lead from Accenture, and Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland.
Delegates will hear from local and global experts who will share essential tech trends, insights and tools that allow businesses to keep up and stand out. The Summit will also include a raft of business leaders from Scotland’s growing innovation clusters – from health tech and advanced manufacturing to quantum and the digital creative industries.
Keynote speaker Elena Corchero, Director of Emerging Tech at DowJones Live, said: “No matter your industry there is so much noise when you look at innovation and trends, and what can apply to your business.
“I’m excited to be part of this important event to talk about building a technology manifesto on ‘the why’ and how companies must embed well-being, immersiveness, sustainability and ethics to ensure tech and innovation adoption is challenge-based and purpose-driven.
“I’ll also share information on essential emerging (and merging) tech that businesses need to know about to stay ahead of the curve and embrace a better future.”
The event will also include an immersive showcase, on Scotland’s largest IMAX screen, of Opé M’s stunning AI-enabled fashion collection ‘Emergence’, for which she received a top 3 award at the first AI Fashion Week in New York City.
Tickets are now available for delegates to reserve free of charge on the CAN DO Innovation Summit Website, with the event taking place on 7 November 2023.
The Scottish Government has launched a new fund to help develop the emerging CO2 utilisation technology.
The CO2 Utilisation Challenge Fund will help businesses and organisations develop and commercialise the technology, which involves harnessing and converting CO2 – the biggest contributor to climate change emissions – and using it to produce valuable products such as synthetic fuels and proteins for use in aquaculture.
The CO2 Utilisation Challenge Fund will be administered by Scottish Enterprise and match-funded by industry, meaning over £10 million could be invested in the initiative over its two-year lifetime.
Net Zero and Energy Secretary Michael Matheson said: “The Scottish Government is fully committed to helping Scotland become a net zero economy. The IPCC’s latest reports show that the impacts of climate change are even worse than previously thought and that business as usual is not an option.
“We know that, in order to deliver on our targets, we must develop and grow innovative technologies like carbon capture and utilisation, alongside carbon capture and storage.
“Promising early work around potential uses for captured CO2 shows that CO2 utilisation has real potential to help develop a circular economy while providing opportunities for our workforces and economic benefits for a range of different sectors.
“Whilst the UK Government have so far failed to sufficiently back carbon capture and storage in Scotland, the launch of this £5 million fund underlines our commitment to making sure Scotland is at the forefront of new industrial opportunities that will result from a future with carbon capture, utilisation and storage deployment.”
Head of Low Carbon Transition at Scottish Enterprise Andy McDonald, said: “This fund will help ensure we remain at the forefront of the global effort to tackle climate change by supporting innovative Scottish companies with the ambition, capability and expertise to utilise CO2 and transform it into products with commercial value.
“Carbon utilisation technology has wide-reaching benefits for both Scotland’s low carbon economy and the environment. This fund will boost this dynamic and emerging sector by facilitating the creation of more high-value jobs while also helping Scotland reach its net zero emissions target.”
New cyber security venture from School with record of successful spin-outs
A NEW Edinburgh Napier project aims to bring trust and transparency to the software supply chain, as the School of Computing continues its drive to translate innovative research into real world impact.
The TrueDeploy venture has received £73,418 funding from Scottish Enterprise, as part of its High Growth Spin-out Programme (HGSP), to help develop the project’s innovative technology.
In setting its sights on the multi-billion pound industry to secure software development supply chains, TrueDeploy is following in the footsteps of Edinburgh Napier cyber security spin-outs ZoneFox, Symphonic Software, Cyan Forensics and MemCrypt which have already successfully made the leap from research lab to market.
The software supply chain relates to the development and supply of software for use across all organisations and systems. This supply chain needs to be managed by organisations that use software due to regulatory requirements and the obligations to ensure their systems are not compromised.
Recent high-profile cyber-attacks, including SolarWinds, Kaseya, and NotPetya, have cost companies and nation-states billions of dollars. Each of these attacks had the same underlying issue, in that they were possible because a threat actor managed to infiltrate and compromise software that was being developed by a software vendor in the long chain that exists from code being written to it being distributed to a customer.
Potential future spin-out TrueDeploy, which aims to resolve these issues by bringing transparency to the software supply chain, has been developed by a technical team led by research student Pavlos Papadopoulos.
He is working alongside the School of Computing’s Dr Nick Pitropakis and seasoned cyber security innovator Professor Bill Buchanan. The technical team will be supported on the project by a core business team of Nanik Ramchandani (Imagine Ventures) and Matthew Burdge (Business Development & Relationship Manager, School of Computing).
With Scottish Enterprise’s support, the team is aiming to develop their innovative technology over the next nine months.
Pavlos Papadopoulos, whose research work is focused on privacy-preserving systems around trust and identity, said: “We are thankful to Edinburgh Napier and Scottish Enterprise for their continuous support.
“This funding is the first step in bringing this innovation to reality.”
Nanik Ramchandani added: “We sincerely appreciate the support provided by Scottish Enterprise to the start-up ecosystem in Scotland.
“This support will help us identify the ideal commercial opportunity for TrueDeploy’s ground-breaking innovation.”
Victoria Carmichael, director of strategic investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Cyber security is a major issue facing society today and this project has the potential to be hugely impactful.
“Our High Growth Spin-out Programme helps turn innovative university research into successful business ventures. To date we’ve supported four cyber security spin outs from Edinburgh Napier, with TrueDeploy becoming the fifth, which speaks volumes about the university’s academic and commercial capabilities.”
Fiona Mason, Head of Business Engagement and IP Commercialisation at Edinburgh Napier, said: “We are thrilled to receive this recognition from Scottish Enterprise on another exciting venture arising from our cyber group.
“The project has benefitted from seed funding, and the inventor has worked closely with both the Business Development support, Matthew Burdge, and our Royal Society-funded Entrepreneur-in Residence, Jamie Graves, to develop the project to the high standard required by SE.
“We value the long-term platform the funding provides, both in terms of project development but also the access to networks, training and mentoring support.”
Chancellor to set out plans for UK to be the world’s first net zero aligned financial centre, calling for other countries to follow suit
Over $130 trillion – 40% of the world’s financial assets – will now be aligned with the climate goals in the Paris Agreement, thanks to climate commitments from financial services firms
New UK climate finance projects funded from the UK’s international climate finance commitment will help developing countries to fund green growth and adapt to the changing climate
The Chancellor will set out the UK’s plans to become the world’s first net zero aligned financial centre and welcome “historic” climate commitments from private companies covering $130 trillion of financial assets as he hosts Finance Day at COP26 today (3 November 2021).
These commitments will help to create a huge pool of cash that could fund our net zero transition, including the move away from coal, the shift to electric cars, and the planting of more trees.
Convening the largest ever meeting of finance leaders on climate change, Rishi Sunak will set out the UK’s “responsibility to lead the way” and unveil a fresh push to decarbonise our world-leading financial centre.
Under the proposals, there will be new requirements for UK financial institutions and listed companies to publish net zero transition plans that detail how they will adapt and decarbonise as the UK moves towards to a net zero economy by 2050.
To guard against greenwashing, a science-based ‘gold standard’ for transition plans will be drawn up by a new Transition Plan Taskforce, composed of industry and academic leaders, regulators, and civil society groups.
In his opening keynote at Finance Day, Mr Sunak will hail the progress made to “rewire the entire global financial system for net zero” under the UK’s leadership of COP and reveal that over $130 trillion – around 40% of the world’s financial assets – is now being aligned with the climate goals in the Paris Agreement, including limiting global warming to 1.5C.
These commitments come from over 450 firms from all parts of the financial industry, based in 45 countries across six continents, and have been delivered through the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), which was launched by the UK to harness the power of the financial sector in the transition to net zero.
The UK has also worked as chair of the G7, and in partnership with other G20 countries, to ensure all economic and financial decisions take the risks of climate change into account. The UK has convened over 30 advanced and developing countries from across 6 continents and representing over 70% of global GDP to back the creation of a new global climate reporting standards by the IFRS Foundation to give investors the information they need to fund net zero.
Celebrating this progress, the Chancellor will urge financial firms to “mobilise private finance quickly and at scale” and call on governments to enact bold climate policies to take advantage of these enormous financial resources.
Reiterating the importance the UK COP Presidency has placed on getting finance to the most vulnerable countries, Mr Sunak will also highlight that the $100 billion climate finance target will be met by 2023 and urge developed countries to boost their support to developing countries – including by helping them tap into the trillions of dollars committed to net zero by the private sector.
The UK will seek to address barriers to finance faced by developing countries with a series of new green initiatives funded from its international climate finance (ICF) commitment, including £100 million to respond to recommendations from the UK co-chaired Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance to make it faster and easier for developing countries to access finance for their climate plans.
In total, the UK will spend £576 million on a package of initiatives to mobilise finance into emerging markets and developing economies, including £66 million to expand the UK’s MOBILIST programme, which helps to develop new investment products which can be listed on public markets and attract different types of investors.
And in a further advance towards the $100 billion goal, the Chancellor will announce the launch of an innovative new financing mechanism – the Climate Investment Funds’ Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM) – that will boost investment into clean energy like solar and wind power in developing countries.
The UK is already the biggest donor to the multilateral Climate Investment Funds, having contributed £2.5 billion, and will now give the returns from its investments (known as reflows) to CCMM. This new fund will use reflows to help it issue green bonds worth billions of pounds in the City of London – the world’s leading green finance centre – and could leverage an extra $30-70 billion from other sources for specific clean energy projects.
Janine Hirt, Chief Executive Officer, Innovate Finance said:“As the voice of UK FinTech, we passionately support the development of the UK as the first net zero aligned financial centre.
“Net Zero transition will be driven by finance and capital markets and it will be enabled by technology and data. As a leading global centre for financial services and for financial technology and innovation, the UK can and should lead the way in rewiring the entire global financial system for net zero.”
Dr Ben Caldecott, Director, UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI) Chief said:“This is huge. The world’s largest international financial centre will become the world’s first net zero-aligned financial centre.
“This is underpinned by world-leading regulation and the economy-wide adoption of net zero transition plans. This will spur demand for green finance and accelerate decarbonisation, not just in the UK but wherever UK firms do business.
“This will make a real difference and means the UK financial services sector will play an even larger role in providing the capital and financial services required to deliver net zero globally.”
“The UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment is excited to act as the secretariat, together with E3G, for the new Transition Plan Taskforce to develop a ‘gold standard’ for transition plans and associated cutting edge metrics.
“We are the UK’s national centre established to accelerate the adoption and use of climate and environmental data and analytics by financial institutions internationally.”
Julie Page, Chief Executive Officer, AON said:“We welcome and support the Chancellor’s plans for the UK to be the world’s first net zero aligned financial centre.
“All industries have an important role in helping to achieve this goal and through Aon’s own 2030 net-zero commitment, we will contribute to this historical commitment and help lead the way towards a net zero economy.”
Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, Chief Executive, Green Finance Institute said:“Today marks the day that green finance has reached a point of critical momentum. The amount of capital committed to the transition to net zero has reached unprecedented levels.
“The task before us now is to come together in radical collaboration to unlock investment opportunities at speed and scale so we can channel this wall of capital into real economy outcomes that not only positions the UK as the world’s first net zero financial centre but also delivers a just and resilient net-zero global economy”
Kay Swinburne, Vice Chair of Financial Services, KPMG UK said:“This announcement will provide the financial services industry with a valuable set of unified metrics to measure progress towards decarbonisation and it is brave to put a gold standard in place for all companies raising funding.
“We’re pleased to see the UK lead by example by not only establishing the GFANZ initiative, but also expanding private sector commitments and supporting a science based approach to reporting standards.”
James Alexander, Chief Executive, UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) said:“We warmly welcome the Chancellor’s ambition to make the UK the world’s first net-zero aligned financial services centre.
“As the first major economy to legislate to cut emissions to net zero by 2050, this is a natural step in the UK’s climate leadership journey and recognises the central role of the sustainable finance sector in addressing the climate crisis.
“UKSIF and our members look forward to actively engaging in these next steps, particularly helping to build a shared definition of a good quality transition plan and more broadly a net-zero finance sector.
“Government and regulators should work closely with the financial services industry to identify the policies and actions required to progress our sector towards this world-leading ambition.”
Investing to tackle climate change
The crucial role of private investment in efforts to achieve net zero will be set out by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon later today (Wednesday) as part of Finance Day at COP26.
The First Minister will join the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at the opening session of a Green Investment Showcase to detail how private investors can help drive the green industries of the future.
The First Minister will emphasise Scotland’s role as a world leader in sustainable industries and highlight the associated investment opportunities that exist, including through Scotland’s Green Investment Portfolio – now valued at £2 billion and which is expected to reach £3 billion in 2022.
The Showcase, hosted by Scottish Enterprise, will be attended by international and UK-based institutional investors, along with climate and clean tech companies seeking investment.
The First Minister said: “COP26 provides what is possibly our best chance to advance the societal and economic change that is demanded by the climate emergency, delivering lasting action towards net zero and a climate-resilient future.
“By grasping the opportunities provided by green industries and supply chains, we can create the good green jobs of the future and secure a just transition away from fossil fuels.
“The role of private capital is fundamental to achieving this and governments must do what they can to channel investment into areas supporting transformational change.
“Through our Green Investment Portfolio, which is already valued at £2 billion, the Scottish Government highlights a range of exciting, commercially assessed investment propositions to investors and showcases businesses in Scotland as world leaders in innovative green industries of the future.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, said: “COP26 is a landmark moment in the fight against climate change. We need to take bold action now or we will face catastrophic consequences in the years to come.
“Climate action and economic growth must go hand in hand – in London I’m investing in green technology which generates good quality jobs, for Londoners and across the UK. Turning the tide on climate change will require record investment and coordinated action from everyone – cities, businesses, governments and communities.
“That’s why I am committed to working with the Scottish Government in pioneering green investment and I’m proud to announce that I will be committing over £30 million in additional funding in London which will help encourage up to £150 million of private investment in low carbon projects and create jobs that will help achieve our 2030 net zero target.”
Edinburgh Napier launches spin-out to tackle growing ransomware threat
Tech entrepreneur Pete Jaco has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of a University spin-out geared to tackling the multi-billion pound ransomware market.
MemCrypt was spun out of research at Edinburgh Napier’s School of Computing with substantial backing from Scottish Enterprise, who supported the launch and early-stage funding requirements.
Jaco now takes the reins as the business steps up plans to launch innovative products to help customers and technology partners combat the threat posed by cyber criminals.
The co-founder of the Scottish Tech Army, who was awarded the British Empire Medal for his services to charity during the Covid-19 response, Jaco joins Chief Technology Officer Dr Peter McLaren (above) on the MemCrypt management team.
Edinburgh Napier’s Professor Bill Buchanan will continue to support MemCrypt as the company’s Chief Scientist while Dr Owen Lo will take the role of Technology Lead.
Ransomware – malware that encrypts files, giving the attacker scope to demand a ransom to restore access – is increasingly becoming the attack of choice for cyber criminals as it has a high chance of financial return coupled with a low chance of detection, and the threat is increasing daily.
MemCrypt, which follows earlier Edinburgh Napier cybersecurity ventures ZoneFox, Symphonic Software and Cyan Forensics in making the leap from research lab to the market, built early traction through its pre-launch involvement with Innovate UK’s CyberASAP programme accelerator.
MemCrypt also benefited from intensive, hands-on support, guidance and advice through Scottish Enterprise’s High-Growth Spinout Programme as it developed its value proposition, business plan and investment strategy. It also secured via the programme early-stage grant funding and, more recently, a substantial six-figure investment in the form of a Convertible Loan Note.
Jaco has worked in the UK SME start-up industry for over 20 years as CEO, non-executive director, advisor, and chair, supporting companies including Becrypt, Digital Shadows, Immense and CyberOwl.
He is also a member of the Industry Advisory Board for the Department of Culture, Media and Sports funded London based cyber security accelerator, The London Office for Rapid Cybersecurity Advancement (LORCA) and serves as a board advisor to the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate’s CivTech GovTech innovation programme. He is also a member of the Scottish Cyber Innovation Hub advisory group managed by ScotlandIS Cyber, Scotland’s Cyber cluster.
Jaco said of his appointment: “I am delighted to join the MemCrypt team to help bring some truly innovative technology to market to help organisations across all sectors address the growing threat of ransomware.
“It is a privilege to work with Bill Buchanan and the Edinburgh Napier team to launch their fourth cyber security spin-out. We welcome the financial support of Scottish Enterprise which will help us to establish the company, build our first product demonstrators and accelerate our market engagement.”
Victoria Carmichael, director of Strategic Investments at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Edinburgh Napier has a track record of producing successful cybersecurity spinouts. We’ve backed MemCrypt and its predecessors with advice and investment and believe the company is poised to repeat that success under Pete’s leadership.
“Scotland’s spin-outs and start-ups will make a huge contribution to the country’s economic recovery. Having created a package of early-stage support to prevent their development being derailed by the pandemic, Scottish Enterprise continues to play a leading role in helping them fulfil their potential.”
Fiona Mason, Head of Business Engagement and IP Commercialisation at the University, said: “I’m delighted to see this level of support being given by Scottish Enterprise to one of our newest spin-outs. We value the recognition that SE has given and look forward to supporting the team as the company develops further.”
Three of Scotland’s most innovative SMEs secure a global audience at the CAN DO Innovation Summit with #SMEstage competition win
Further details of the Summit released
With Scotland’s CAN DO Innovation Summit fast-approaching, the winners of its #SME stage competition are today unveiled, as further details of the programme for the virtual event on 3 February are announced.
The three winners of the competition, open to all small and medium sized Scottish businesses, were chosen from high-quality entrants who were asked to submit a short video demonstrating how they are building innovation into their daily practices.
The winners are rising stars from across Scotland – Edinburgh-based Scene Connect, Aberdeen-based Recycl8 and Edinburgh-based Space Intelligence. Getting a spot on the Summit’s SME stage gives the businesses exposure to a global online audience of over 800 investors, academics, entrepreneurs and innovators.
The winners will also benefit from two days of support from an Innovation Specialist at Scottish Enterprise.
This year’s CAN DO Innovation Summit, a headline event of the VentureFest Scotland festival of innovation, has been carefully crafted to support Scottish SMEs to build innovation-led recovery, resilience and sustainable growth after recent national and global challenges.
It will feature a speaker line-up of over 40 multi-sector SMEs and a range of innovation support agencies across 12 industry-led panel sessions.
Panel discussions and live Q&A sessions will run throughout the day covering the following themes: Journey to a Sustainable Future; Recovery & Resilience; Workplace Culture; Advance manufacturing & Digitisation; MedTech/Health Innovation.
Speaker highlights on the day will include world class keynotes: Lolita Jackson, Special Advisor for Climate Policy and Programs in New York City’s Mayor’s Office; Ivan McKee, the Scottish Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation; Craig Foster, Art Director at Pixar Animation Studios; Chloe Demrovsky, the youngest and first female chief executive to oversee and expand the Disaster Recovery Institute’s international network; Dyan Finkhousen, founder and CEO of Shoshin Works in the US and John Reid, CEO of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS).
It has never been more important for business to be agile and creative – and over 800 delegates have already signed up to this year’s event, from Scotland, the UK and beyond.
They have given a range of reasons for getting involved, including aiming to make new connections; wanting to learn about progressive workplace practices and hoping to learn how new technologies can help them tackle business challenges.
Enabling connections is a key objective of the Summit, at a time when networking can be difficult in a virtual world. With multiple opportunities to connect with new people, share knowledge and ideas and explore opportunities for partnership, the Summit makes it easier than ever to spark new connections online.
Delegates can meet innovation leaders, support agencies, investors, entrepreneurs and academics through live Q&As, speed networking, 1:1s in the Delegate Hub, drop-in sessions and the Summit’s virtual Support Village.
Dr Laura Bell of the CAN DO Innovation Summit, said:“Recent events have created huge challenges for SMEs, who will now be critical to tackling the economic and societal challenges we are facing. This year’s Summit has been carefully crafted to help SMEs explore opportunities to develop new and better business models and to drive sustainable competitive advantage.
“Our virtual focal point for business will help SMEs adopt new technologies, build progressive working cultures and access the right support for innovation-led recovery and growth. We have a wide selection of world-leading experts and local talent lined up to speak at the event, as well as interactive sessions which can benefit SMEs across all sectors.
“I’d also like to thank our panel of judges for selecting three excellent winners to take their well-earned place in the spotlight at the Summit on the #SMEstage. We look forward to welcoming many more SMEs on 3 February.”
The #SMEstage competition winners were selected by an independent panel of judges made up of senior representatives from Scottish EDGE, Innovate UK and Scottish Enterprise.
The winners will have their moment in the spotlight at the Summit at 3.45pm when they will showcase how they are building innovation into their daily practices.
Evelyn McDonald said:“Judging the #SMEstage competition was a great way to start the year as it reminded us all that despite the challenges we are currently facing there are a wealth of entrepreneurs and businesses in Scotland creating new technologies to enable innovation led recovery and growth.
“Winning the competition will give the businesses access to a wide audience which will hopefully bring useful connections and support as well as linking them into invaluable support from Scottish Enterprise.”
This is the second Summit, following a successful inaugural event in Glasgow, and is the first time it has been held virtually.
The Scottish Government created a support package for businesses in Scotland affected by Covid 19 and enterprise agencies worked at pace with VisitScotland and Creative Scotland to design and deliver two short-term funds:
The Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund for vulnerable Scottish SMEs deemed vital to local, regional and national economies and the Creative, Tourism & Hospitality Enterprises Hardship Fund for tourism, hospitality and creative industry businesses that experienced hardship due to Covid 19.
Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Steve Dunlop (above) said: “It is not an easy time for many businesses and Scottish Enterprise is working hard to provide funding, advice and resources to ensure businesses not only survive, but thrive now and in future.
“The support from the Hardship and Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Funds has allowed companies across a range of industries to continue to trade. We will continue to work alongside Scottish Government and partners to focus on a fair, sustainable and jobs-focused recovery and play a critical role in rebuilding Scotland’s economy.”
Precision engineering company Almond Engineering is based in Livingston and received £100,000 from the Pivotal Enterprise Fund and has remained in production throughout the pandemic by undertaking safety precautions.
The business has also manufactured face shields to donate to the NHS as well as creating test equipment for ventilator manufacturers.
Managing director of Almond Engineering Michelle Quinn said: “The support from Scottish Enterprise has been so important for us. We have always really valued the help and support and in times like this it is doubly valuable.
“The coronavirus has really impacted our orders at Almond and at times such as these when you don’t know how long the crisis will last nor how deep the recession will be, the government and Scottish Enterprise support allows time for the economy to start recovering and ensure that businesses such as ours are here once the world reopens.”
Edinburgh based interior and graphic design firm 442 Design specialises in venue design, creating memorable customer experiences that challenge the conventions of traditional Food, Drink and Retail spaces. Their clients include Arsenal Football Club, Amazon, SSE Hydro, BBC Scotland, Adidas and Aramark.
442 Design received £50,000 from the Pivotal Enterprise Resilience Fund, which was welcomed by Managing director David Dunn who said: “Our business relies heavily on crowds and entertainment whether through eating and drinking out, football matches or live gigs.
“The banning of crowd activity had a massively detrimental impact on our client businesses. Our business practically stopped with lockdown with all projects put on hold.
“PERF has kept the company afloat during a time of forced abandonment of all projects, saved jobs and allowed 442 to reposition for the future. We’re now developing a different Covid-aware approach to designing spaces that can deliver both commercial return for client and ensure a great experience for our customers.”
Arrayjet is a biotech company based in Roslin, Midlothian, supplying inkjet bio-printing instruments and also manufactures Covid 19 testing and research products.
Iain McWilliam Chief Executive Officer of Arrayjet said: “The PERF grant helped support our cashflow during a critical period when revenue collection and generation was extremely difficult.
“Many of our customers had to cease operations temporarily, and the restrictions on travel prevented us from installing new instruments, look after our installation base, or to visit prospective clients.
“A large proportion of the Arrayjet team were already on the furlough scheme, but the PERF grant allowed us to continue some limited economic activity, to support our key local supply chain, to bring some staff back sooner and accelerate our recovery.
“The PERF grant helped to stabilise our cashflow and gave our board the confidence to bring members of the Arrayjet team off furlough earlier than planned. As a result, we have been able to develop and market products and services related to Covid 19 research and diagnosis.”
Edinburgh Napier University and Scottish Enterprise deliver sector-wide recovery initiative
From April to June, four themed workgroups reviewed the challenges facing Scottish tourism as it reeled from the impact of Covid-19. The scale of the challenge facing the sector – one of Scotland’s largest employers – was obvious from the first day of lockdown and, ultimately, more than 85% of personnel have been furloughed over the period.
In response, in March, Scottish Enterprise and Edinburgh Napier University, the partnership which runs the ground-breaking Destination Leaders Programme (DLP), acted to harness the experience and expertise of more than 120 DLP alumni, launching DLP Assembles to support a pathway to recovery.
“When we launched, the aim was to provide identified actions, outputs and outcomes to help recovery,” explains Professor Jane Ali-Knight of the Edinburgh Napier Business School.
“Involvement was designed to ensure participation came under the acceptable category of professional training for ‘furloughed’ professionals, and we used the DLP alumni network to form the project groups to ensure a good mix of experience and expertise. We also matched the workgroups with mentors and professional support to guide participants on their themes and tasks.”
DLP alumni used their connections to bring together the network of professionals who considered each theme – guided by weekly discussions with mentors drawn from DLP alumni and Edinburgh Napier. Mentors helped focus each group’s actions around the Scottish tourism strategy, Scotland Outlook 2030, and provided regular updates on government funding and initiatives.
Aileen Lamb from Scottish Enterprise adds: “We wanted the programme to encourage innovative thinking across a range of themes, but most importantly we wanted to help maintain and extend participants’ professional skills, expertise and experience, and their networking during furlough.
“This project was built upon the alumni network of the Destination Leaders Programme. It is an excellent example of successful collaboration across academia, the public sector and the tourism industry. What Covid-19 has shown us, despite empty hotels, attractions and airports, is the passion, innovation and resilience of the people who work in this critical industry.”
Kenneth Wardrop, a fellow DLP founder, adds: “Using the DLP alumni we were able to act quickly and ensure we coordinated with groups such as Edinburgh Tourism Action Group and the Scottish Tourism Emergency Response Group.
“Everyone involved is to be commended for the quality, professionalism and practical solutions identified. They will all be vital in adjusting business operations to post Covid-19 challenges, and the longer-term strategic planning for the recovery of the sector.”
The practical recommendations of each workgroup were presented in individual online sessions in June.
An undoubted highlight has been an interactive toolkit for visitor attractions and experiences, which is now hosted on the VisitScotland website. The Toolkit includes case studies from across the world and suggests technological solutions to suit different budgets, as well as short, medium and long-term ideas.
“It covers everything from online ticketing and social distancing, to moving content online and creating your own podcast,” explains Thayanne Scardini, who volunteered to work on the Toolkit workgroup with fellow tourism professionals Karin Gidlund and Jemma Reid.
“We believe the Toolkit will be a great starting point for attractions and experiences who are looking into diversifying through technology, helping to prepare them for a safe reopening for both visitors and staff, whilst meeting visitors’ expectations and improving customer experience. It has many recommendations for applying technology that can also be helpful for other sectors as well.”
For Antony Carter, and his fellow participants on the Business Events workgroup, they quickly realised that – whether global chain or local venue – the priority going forward is to find ways to reassure clients that operations are safe.
“In the past, operational staff at events were meant to blend into the background; going forward clients and attendees will want to see the operational team front and centre – whether they are cleaning or managing movement around a venue.
“Our report recommends ways that venues can demonstrate how they have alleviated risk effectively, and that includes collaboration throughout the supply chain.”
For Colin Corson and the Whisky workgroup, ‘collaboration’ also became their watchword: “Whether you are a self-catering provider who wants to welcome guests with a fridge full of local produce, (and a local malt of course), or two attractions selling combined tickets online to avoid the need for queuing, collaboration is vital to future success.
” It can minimise congestion in local shops; help improve the experience for guests and local businesses; and help local communities – as well as visitors – feel safer as they move forward.”
From conception to conclusion, collaboration is the theme that sums up the ‘Pathway to Recovery’ project.
Jane Ali-Knight adds: “The University is incredibly proud to have worked with Scottish Enterprise to lead and drive this project forward. We applaud the hard work of all the workgroup participants, against the backdrop of the many challenges of lockdown, and the professional uncertainty, anxiety and disruption.
“That hard work was marked by the presentation of Certificates of Participation to all group members on Friday 10th July.”
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