Digital Business Briefing

December 2014

What is this briefing?

• A digest of useful information for UK digital

businesses seeking funding and support,

updated every month

• Brought to you by the following organisations:

Contents

• Live public funding calls

• Other public funding

• Private financing

• Other financing mechanisms

• Non-financial support for your business

• Relevant events

• Other information

• Useful reports

Live Public funding calls

Key feature: Innovation voucher scheme funding for start-up, micro, small

and medium-sized enterprises to work with an external expert to gain the

knowledge to innovate and grow.

Scale:

• Up to £5k funding for SMEs

Closes: on 21st January

2015

More info on innovateuk.org

Innovation Vouchers

Live Public funding calls

Key feature: For proposals that might kick-start the delivery of

genuinely new products and services, with substantial and scalable

commercial potential.

Scale:

• For SMEs working on new projects

• Will fund up to 75% of project costs up to £25k

Closes: on 21st January

2015

More info on innovateuk.org

Technology-inspired Innovation – Feasibility Studies

Live Public funding calls

Key feature:

Scale:

• For businesses who want to work with an academic organisation

• Will fund up to 60% of project costs

Closes: on 15th April

2015

More info on innovateuk.org

Better interactions between people and machines

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships designed to help

develop new ways for people to interact with machines

Live Public funding calls

Key feature:

Scale:

• For businesses who want to develop projects up to £250k

• Will fund up to 60% of project costs

• Must demonstrate benefit to Wales cluster (based, working with or

testing in Wales)

Closes: on 10th December

2014

More info on innovateuk.org

Medical Technologies – Launchpad Wales

Grant funding to help develop medical technology cluster

in Wales. Focuses on medical devices and data.

Live Public funding calls

Key feature:

Scale:

• Up to £50k

• Will fund up to 100% of project

Closes: on 16th January

2015

More info on: Inclusive Technology Prize

Inclusive Technologies Prize

A tender from Department of Work and Pensions that

gives “disabled people equal access to life’s opportunities”

Live Public funding calls

Key feature:

Scale:

• Up to £200k project size

• Will fund up to 75% of project costs

Closes: on 21st January

2015

More info on: innovate UK

Biomedical Catalyst – Early Stage Awards

Funding to develop and test solutions to healthcare

challenges – diagnostics, devices and data

Live Public funding calls

Key feature:

Scale:

• Up to £200k project size

• Will fund up to 75% of project costs

Closes: on 18th March

2015

More info on: innovate UK

Biomedical Catalyst – Feasibility Grants

Funding to develop and test solutions to healthcare

challenges – diagnostics, devices and data

Live Public funding calls -

Creative Production

Horizon 2020 ICT-19-2015

Key feature: R&D funding of new or emerging technologies (e.g. 3D and

augmented reality technologies) for digital content creation to support the

creative and media industries and for unlocking complex information and

media and interacting with them.

Scale: €561,000,000

Opens:15th October 2014 Closes: 14th April 2015

Further info: Horizon 2020 website, UK list of National Contact Points for

Horizon 2020 and the Enterprise Europe Networks

Public funding calls –

Learning Technology

Horizon 2020 ICT-20-2015

Key feature: This challenge encourages public procurement of innovative solutions to address the needs of the digital learning ecosystem in making better use of educational cloud solutions, mobile technology, learning analytics and big data, and to facilitate the use, re-use and creation of learning material and new ways to educate and learn online.

Scale: €561,000,000

Opens:15th October 2014 Closes: 14th April 2015

Further info: Horizon 2020 website, UK list of National Contact Points for Horizon 2020 and the Enterprise Europe Networks

Public funding calls –

Internet of Things

Horizon 2020 ICT-30-2015

Key feature: The evolution of the Internet of Things embedded in

Smart Environments and Platforms forming a web of "everythings"

has been identified as one of the next big concepts to support societal

changes and economic growth at an annual rate estimated at 20%.

Scale: €561,000,000

Opens:15th October 2014 Closes: 14th April 2015

Further info: Horizon 2020 website, UK list of National Contact Points

for Horizon 2020 and the Enterprise Europe Networks

Live Public funding calls –

CitiesAn integrated future for cities

Key feature: large-scale SBRI contracts to encourage new ways of

achieving better integration of infrastructure and services across a

city. Contracts will be to develop prototypes, must link up cities and

will enable users to interact with multiple models to tackle different city

problems.

Scale:

• Contracts of between £1.5 - 2m – 100% funded

• Single contract, but able to sub-contract out work

Closes: registration closes on 7 January 2015

More info on innovateuk.org

Live funding calls

"Smart" grants for start-ups and small businesses

Key feature: A grant scheme which offers funding to small and

medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in R&D projects in the

strategically important areas of science, engineering and technology.

Scale:

• Proof of market - up to £25k - 60% of project cost

• Proof of concept - up to £100k - 60% of project cost

• Prototype development - up to £250k - up to 45% of project cost

Closes: 29th January

2015

More info on innovateuk.org

Live funding calls

Cognicity Challenge

Key feature: Prize fund in 4 challenge areas of Internet of Things.

Winners will get to pilot their projects across the Canary Wharf estate

in East London

Scale:

• 4 X £50k challenge prizes – incubated and developed with

support over a 12 week period

Closes: 19th December 2014

More info on www.cognicity.london

Other public funding

Key features: Online guide to over 4,000 grants, contracts and other

forms of finance:

• Fully searchable based on finance type, scale and your

geographical location

• Constantly updated – especially good for businesses seeking

charitable or grant funding

More info on Funding Central and Finance Finder

Funding Central and Finance Finder websites

Public Investment

Nesta Impact Investment Fund

Key feature: An equity investment fund investing in social ventures with

innovative products or services that are addressing some of the UK’s most

pressing challenges. Investments are made in areas that tackle:

• the health and wellbeing of an ageing population

• the educational attainment and employability of children and young people

• the social and environmental sustainability of communities.

Scale: between £150k - £1m

Closes: on-going

More info on Nesta Investments

Private financing

Connect Ventures, London – invest in mobile, internet and digital media

businesses; invest at the early stage and focus on seed investments;

investment size ranges from £200K-£600k

Edge Investments, London - specialist investment house focused on the

creative industries sector, in particular media and entertainment, which has

raised more than £145m since launch

Growth Accelerator, Cornwall – provided by some of the UK’s leading

growth specialists; works with businesses from a diverse range of sectors;

key eligibility criteria include fewer than 250 employees and annual turnover

under £40m

Index Ventures, London, San Francisco & Geneva – venture capital firm

making investments in information technology and life sciences companies,

since 1996 they have teamed up with technology entrepreneurs in more

than 30 countries

Private financing

Ingenious Media, London – a UK media investment and advisory group with

operating divisions of Investments, Ventures, Asset Management and

Corporate Finance; since 1998 they have raised and invested over £9bn in

the media and entertainment, clean energy and real estate sectors

Notion Capital, London – invest in B2B Cloud & SaaS companies who have

sustained 100% Year-over-Year growth; investment areas include adtech,

communications and collaboration tools, ecommerce, enterprise software,

fintech and security; portfolio raised over £200m in 2014

Silicon Valley Bank – global bank dedicated to the innovation sector with

focus on technology businesses; have supported clients such as Shazam,

The Foundry and Cambridge Broadband Networks

Other financing mechanisms

Crowdfunder.co.uk – UK’s largest crowdfunding network having launched

1000’s of projects and raised over £2m, platform launched by KEO digital

and partners include Nesta and Plymouth University

Funding Circle – an online marketplace which allows savers to lend money

directly to SMEs; the first site to use peer-to-peer lending for business

funding in the UK; as of February 2014 Funding Circle has facilitated £223

in loans to SMEs

Kickstarter.com – a global crowdfunding platform based in the United

States; the company’s stated mission is to help to bring creative projects to

life; since launching in 2009, 7m people have pledged $1bn, funding 70,000

creative projects

Seedcamp is a London based accelerator that provides startups with seed

money, mentorship, office space, support over a year long programme.

Launching a new digital business?

• The Open Data Institute runs a start-up programme that helps

start-ups build business models around open data

• Tech City UK offers advice and support to start-ups looking for

guidance in and around London. It has just launched its Digital

Business Academy. Tech City UK can also endorse visa

applications to help recruit talent to Britain.

• Innovate UK - IC tomorrow connects start-ups and SMEs with

leading commercial partners and investors, through funded

contests, events, and strategic matchmaking opportunities.

• Transmit Start Ups provide financial support and mentoring to

creative and digital entrepreneurs that would not normally be

available via traditional banking relationships.

Are you an existing digital business

seeking non-financial advice or support?

• Nesta runs a creative business mentor network for digital

businesses looking to grow

• The UKTI offers advice to help with exporting

• Tech City UK can help advise on inward investment

• The British Business Angels Association can help put you

in touch with relevant business angel investors

• The Digital Catapult can help you showcase your business

Are you an existing digital business

seeking advice or support?

• Subsidised costs to work with a specialist to build and

deliver business growth – GrowthAccelerator

• Use the IP Health check to identify commercial IP in your

business

• AngelList – helps source angel investors

Personal Data and Trust Network

A digital business network to build and nurture a community that

brings together industry, the public sector, funders, research

organisations and innovators to support the UK in becoming the

global leader in trust and responsible innovation with personal data.

For more information and to join, visit the Digital Catapult website

Training and skills

• Training in Open Data from the Open Data Institute

• Digital Project Management – via @IABUK

• Digital Acceleration – via @hyperisland_uk

• Digital training – via @Econsultancy – e-marketing courses

Develop your skills with these world-class courses:

Key events in December

• RE.WORK Future Cities - London, 4th-5th December

• THINK Cloud Vendors - London, 9th December

• Cambridge Wireless: ‘Living in the Virtual World’ - Cambridge, 9th

December

• The KTN is running workshops across the UK on Solving Urban

Challenges with Data

• Wired Sussex events – via @WiredSussex

• Manchester events – via @McrDig

• For all events in and around London, check out Tech City News

Useful reports/ market research

• The Scale-Up Report – Sherry Coutu CBE urges the UK to put

more focus on growing companies

• 2014 Startup Job Trends – from Adzuna and Silicon

Milkroundabout, finds that 1)Tech start-ups are paying 26% above

the market rate for the best talent 2) their hiring is up 80%

• Report of the Digital Government Review – recommends ways to

improve trust and engagement between the government and its

digital citizens

• Over half of UK shoppers now regularly using digital wallets -

research by online payment and digital wallet provider Skrill (HQ:

Ldn) finds major generational gap in paying habits

Something else we've missed?

Please let us know: digitaleconomy@ktn-uk.org

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