Member Article

Shell Springboard announces 2017 winners at Cambridge heat

• Three businesses receive £40,000 equity-free funding each and progress to the Shell Springboard 2017 national final in London in April.
• The Shell Springboard programme offers awards of up to £150,000 to businesses with innovative, commercially viable ideas that support the transition to a lower carbon economy.

GrowUp Urban Farms, Desolenator and TRINE Finance Ltd were last night named Shell Springboard regional winners at an event in Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

GrowUp Urban Farms uses aquaponic and vertical farming techniques to produce year-round harvests of leaf salads, herbs and fish. Desolenator has developed a clean water technology which purifies water from any source, including seawater and water contaminated with bacteria, while TRINE Finance Ltd’s innovative concept offers alternative finance solutions specifically designed for off-grid solar projects in Africa through an engaging crowdfunding model. Each receives £40,000 equity-free funding from the Shell Springboard programme.

They will now go head-to-head with three other regional winners from Aberdeen in the national Shell Springboard 2017 final in London on April 6. The overall national winner will receive a further £110,000, taking their total equity-free funding to £150,000.

Shell Springboard provides funding and other support to help innovative, low-carbon business scale-up. Now in its twelfth year, the programme has awarded £3,850,000 million to 92 low-carbon enterprises, creating over 60 new jobs with combined annual turnover of almost £5.6 million. The important role of entrepreneurs in shaping our low carbon future and the UK economy was highlighted in the Government’s recently published Industrial Strategy green paper.

Previous Shell Springboard winners have benefitted from a range of support beyond grant funding. This included feedback from experts on business plans; support in identifying the right funding routes through the Shell Access to Finance Navigator; marketing and publicity exposure through participation in the Shell Make the Future Live festival; and scale-up support through Shell’s #makethefuture campaign.

With the support of Shell #makethefuture, previous Shell Springboard winner Deciwatt launched its award-winning technology, GravityLight, in Kenya last autumn. GravityLight uses the force of gravity to power lights as an alternative to other fuel sources including kerosene lamps. Through a 50-night tour of communities in Kenya, where almost 80 per cent of the population live with no access to electricity, Shell and the GravityLight Foundation brought more than 3,000 of the innovative lighting devices to people living off-grid.

Host of the Cambridge event, John MacArthur, Shell Vice President for Integrated Gas Technology, said:

“This is the fifth time that I have hosted the Shell Springboard regional final, and every year I am impressed by the amazing people, ideas and businesses that we see.

Out of 130 applicants, GrowUp Urban Farms, Desolenator and TRINE Finance Ltd stood out as particularly strong companies that can make a real difference in reducing carbon emissions. We are proud to be helping smart companies like these and, through them, to be supporting the development of the UK’s low carbon sector. I wish them every success in growing their businesses and the very best of luck for the national final.“

Kate Hofman, CEO of GrowUp Urban Farms, said:

“Winning the regional final of the Shell Springboard competition is a huge achievement. We are so proud of the fantastic team we have working with us at the farm, who work exceptionally hard to grow delicious and sustainable food. The Shell Springboard award is a great opportunity for us to get the support and visibility we need to scale our business.“

William Janssen, Founder of Desolenator said:

“As a start-up looking to help solve the water crisis, we are very honoured and excited to have a force such as Shell Springboard behind us. Bring on the finals!“

Sam Manaberi, founder and CEO of TRINE Finance Ltd, said:

“Winning the trust of this jury with such deep competency in tech innovation is great validation that we’re learning and iterating quickly in the right direction. We’re very excited to scale TRINE and continue accelerating access to finance for energy access solar projects.“

For more information about Shell Springboard and how to apply for future funding, please visit: http://www.shellspringboard.org/

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Shell Springboard .