2017 EMEA Finalists

Minespider uses blockchain tokens to track conflict free minerals. Metals that come from conflict zones are difficult to uniquely identify because shipments can be mixed, so our approach is to create blockchain tokens according to production volumes of responsibly sourced material.

These tokens are passed up the supply chain to purchasers of metal, so that manufacturers can trace their money to responsible sources.

Finalist's Website

Immersive Rehab uses Virtual Reality to achieve important gains in mobility and function beyond what can be achieved with current physical & neuro-rehabilitation practices, thereby focusing in particular on improving fine motor function.

Immersive Rehab’s Virtual Reality Platform provides an engaging and motivating solution to the current limitations of physical rehab, in particular for people with significant neurological upper limb mobility limitations. By combining neuro- & physical rehab, it is possible to obtain important gains in mobility and function.

• Twitter
• Facebook

Finalist's Website

Prospela is an e-mentoring platform giving schools / universities (regardless of location / prestige) access to an employer network. Students (aged 16-21 years) enjoy on-demand career discovery and planning through a “board” of employee mentors.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Finalist's Website

Drum Roll HQ are creating Erase All Kittens – the world’s first game designed to inspire girls to code and teach them professional coding languages.

Solely through word-of-mouth, the pilot version of E.A.K. has 120,000 players in over 100 countries and 55% are girls (compared with an average of less than 18% for other coding tools/clubs). Our mission is to inspire and teach at least 500,000 girls aged 8-13 to code and create on the web, by 2019.

• Twitter
• Facebook

Finalist's Website

Trouva is the destination for shopping the best independent shops and boutiques, enabling customers to discover distinctive home & fashion you cannot find everywhere else.

We’ve built the world’s first offline to online platform for independent retail, giving small bricks and mortar shops the ability to sell online effectively, whilst offering an even better customer experience than Amazon or the chains. We enable everything from live inventory to logistics, including click & collect ,1 hour delivery and worldwide shipping.

Finalist's Website

Hotelchamp was established to disrupt the global hotel industry. This award-winning company is successfully providing the leading marketing and sales platform for hotels. The smart technology convinces hotel website visitors to book directly and engage with guests on a personal level.

Already trusted by over 1.000 hotels in more than 45 countries and integrated with more than 50 booking engines worldwide, it’s their ambition to restore a fair balance between direct channels and third parties.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Finalist's Website

E-Kite develops kite power systems to generate electricity at >50% lower costs than wind turbines. Our systems consist of a wing tethered to a ground station. While flying away the wing is pulling the tether, causing a pulley to turn. This pulley then drives a generator.

Kite power systems are mobile, so they can be used at temporary or remote sites. Our systems can be deployed offshore in deep waters at very low costs, because they can float on pontoons.

• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Finalist's Website

ShareTheMeal is the first mobile app to crowdfund the fight against global hunger. It’s one of the most efficient and innovative tools ever developed by the UN World Food Programme to engage millennials in the fight for food security.

The idea is simple: with just a tap and USD 0.50, every smartphone user can feed a child for a full day. With ShareTheMeal, we put the fight against hunger in people’s hands, while making it social, transparent, and easily quantifiable.

• Twitter
• Facebook

Finalist's Website

SafeToNet is an award-winning, British technology company and family business leading the way in safeguarding children online and around the world.

SafeToNet uses natural language processing, big data analytics in a machine-learning environment to block harmful content in real time and combat cyberbullying, sextortion, trolling, grooming whilst respecting the child’s privacy rights.

Now just over two years’ old with a team of nine, the software is sold B2B(2C) directly and through MNOs, has its own IP, and is scalable.

• Twitter
• Facebook

Finalist's Website

• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Finalist's Website

I’m Aviva’s International CIO based in Ireland and responsible for IT across a number of Countries.

I love change, transformation and innovation in equal measures and not frightened to experiment or challenge the status quo.

My remit is to disupt Aviva by modernising our Museum of Technology and introducing DevOps, Continuous Deployment & the next generation of Agile based on Flow Principles.

In reality, I’m a failed punk guitarist that became a technician because I wasn’t a very good musician.

• Twitter
• LinkedIn

Finalist's Website

I have been the Head of ICT at Solihull Community Housing since 2006. In 2008 I began exploring how IT could improve the live chances of tenants in social housing and received a national Award for digital inclusion in 2009. In 2015 I won the “Social Impact of the Year” award from the Chartered Institute of Housing. Also, in 2016 my team won the Housing Heroes award for Central Services Team of the Year.

Finalist's Website

With 20 years’ international Banking experience, Greg joined HomeServe Membership in 2012, as Chief Marketing Officer, becoming CEO in June 2017. He leads a business with 3,000 People, including 1,000 engineers, with 2.2m Customers and a turnover of £326m.

Upon joining, HomeServe had just come through a regulatory, reputational and commercial near-death experience. Greg has helped a new HomeServe emerge; a commercially powerful business built on strong principles with the right culture of committed People delivering effortless service to Customers.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Finalist's Website

Until 2016, Kirsty worked as a campaigning tech journalist, editor and award-winning podcaster in London, but she recently headed home to head up talent and skills for government-backed Tech North.

It’s her job to understand our region’s ‘digital skills crisis’ and work with others to address it, and she’s already been recognised in the Northern Power Women Future List 2017.

Her work has included creating the Northern Voices spokesperson training network to make women in the industry more visible.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Finalist's Website

I am a partner and Head of Employment & Reward at international law firm Pinsent Masons LLP. I also lead Project Sky, the firm’s program to achieve a better gender balance in our partnership and senior leadership team.

I am passionate about diversity and inclusion and have recently led the firm’s acquisition of D&I consultancy Brook Graham. I am married with one son. In my spare time I enjoy socialising with family and friends, cooking and cocktail making.

• LinkedIn

Finalist's Website