12 start-ups plan to grow their customer-base to over 10m people by the end of 2019 after they became the first cohort to graduate from the “ScaleUp Hub”, a programme supporting the development of smart city technologies designed to address key urban challenges in the UK and beyond.
Launched in November 2018 by Wayra UK, the innogy Innovation Hub, an affiliate of German energy company innogy SE, and the Transport Systems Catapult, a team of experts have helped accelerate the journeys of start-ups developing technologies in areas such as future energy, urban solutions and customer experience.
Using their direct connections to ease the start-ups’ transition into the UK market, the innogy Innovation Hub and Wayra partnership has seen the cohorts’ collective customer-base grow from 2.5m to 6.1m in just four months. The aim now is to increase that number by a further 67 per cent (10.2m), following the completion of 18 trials involving Telefónica, several high-profile corporates and a number Government agencies.
Pedro Ruao, CEO, Omniflow, one of the participating companies said, “During the Wayra UK programme we raised EUR 2.5m and were introduced to a number of strategic partners that we built relationships with, some of which may lead to long-term collaborations that will benefit the business and our customers. We would strongly recommend the programme to other ambitious businesses.”
Gary Stewart, director of Wayra UK and Telefónica Open Future in the UK said, “ScaleUp Hub proves what can be achieved when two companies embrace the values associated with open innovation. As a result of programme, innogy Innovation Hub and Wayra have supported the growth of new market leaders in emerging smart city technologies that will enhance the lives of over 10M people, worldwide.
“This swell in customer activity, which has generated £13M for start-ups to-date, hasn’t gone unnoticed. Since the start of the programme, the cohort has raised £6M in third-party investment,
with £52M more in the pipeline.”
Annemie Ress, managing director for innogy Innovation Hub said, “We strongly believe that the creation of alliances and networks is key in unlocking innovation and delivering start-up success.
“ScaleUp Hub provides ample proof of this, with the participating start-ups on course to quadruple their revenues by the end of the year. The UK is the perfect place for innovative to thrive with an open, forward-looking business and investor community combined with a huge potential market.”
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