Stem cell firm among latest Edge winners
A host of businesses is to share a prize pot of nearly £1 million after being selected winners in the latest Scottish Edge round.
Each will take home up to a six-figure slice and will receive a support package from Scottish Edge’s partner organisations to help them fast-track and grow their business.
The Higgs Edge Special Award of £150,000, the highest amount available, was won by scientist Kate Cameron, who set up Cytochroma, which uses automated technology to generate stem cell derived liver cells that model human physiology and accurately identify liver based toxicity, with a view to tackling increasingly expensive yet less effective practices of drug discovery.
The list of winning businesses arose from a whittling-down from 20 finalists who pitched to a panel including Jim Mccoll of Clyde Blowers, Steve Dunlop of Scottish Enterprise, and Maeve Mcmahon of Royal Bank of Scotland.
Renowned entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter said businesses that come through Edge “grow faster with less risk because Edge is not just about money, but the embedded support on offer”. He also described Edge businesses as the “lifeblood” of the Scottish economy. He told them: “Scotland needs many more like you.”
Scottish Edge chief executive Evelyn Mcdonald said: “We welcome the entrepreneurs awarded to our highachieving alumni of 293 previous winners who thus far have generated an additional £104.2m in turnover, secured £82.5m in additional investment and created 1,381 jobs.”