Geovation Scotland companies pitch for investment and support.
Electric vehicle tourism, forestry management and strawberries have all featured in a showcase event supporting Scottish tech start-ups.
The inaugural Geovation Scotland Virtual Showcase saw the first two cohorts of companies on the Geovation Scotland accelerator programme sharing their business plans with potential investors, partners and future customers.
Registers of Scotland - the organisation responsible for Scotland’s land and property records - and mapping experts Ordnance Survey have run the Geovation Scotland initiative since 2019.
The programme aims to support Scottish-based geotech and proptech start-ups, offering the companies involved access to a wealth of data, mentoring and resources as well as grant funding to develop their businesses.
It promotes open innovation, and access to public datasets; whether its use is directly related to dealing with the impact of Covid-19 or as the basis for developing new tools for future needs.
The programme also supports the Scottish economy with year one having seen the companies involved raising over £400,000 of additional funding, £100,000 of investment and creating 15 full-time jobs.
Speaking at the showcase, Public Finance Minister Ben Macpherson said:
“Supporting businesses on their digital journey is key to Scotland’s future prosperity.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen how our public and private sector organisations have adapted and that those who have utilised digital tools have often coped the best.
"All of this means that accelerator programmes, such as Geovation Scotland, have arguably never been more important.”
The following companies pitched at the event which was attended by potential early adopters, partners and investors from across the private and public sectors:
Sarah Morrison and Jamie Henderson, founders of AboveBoard
AboveBoard looks at issues that arise from the Scottish factoring market, providing digital tools to those in new developments, tenements and flats.
Martin Warne, founder of Folarity
Folarity looks at tools to help forest managers plan and monitor their woodlands quickly and more effectively.
Oscar Van Heek, founder of Walks and Waterfalls
Walks and Waterfalls utilises Scotland’s unique waterfalls and wild swimming areas through a treasure hunt app.
James Cooper, founder of Doorstep Market
Doorstep Market is a guide to peoples’ local food scene with a focus on sustainability. It connects independent producers and grocers making it just as easy to shop local as it is to shop at a supermarket, with one payment and checkout.
Elaine Ford, founder of Electrek Explorer
Electrek Explorer is a community-led electric vehicle route experience app, tailored to users’ vehicle specifications and desires. It integrates tourism, games and activity information with charging destinations to provide a complete planning solution.
Zishan Ashraf, founder of Homey
Homey is a pre-sale property renovation company allowing homeowners to renovate today, sell their property for more money and then pay for those renovations when it comes to sale settlement.
Mike McDonald, founder of ZIVA Robotics
ZIVA Robotics aims to make data collection more accessible. Their first product is a multi-terrain, shock-resistant computerised vehicle which can be used for inspection and surveillance purposes.
They are currently using it to work with soft fruit growers to automate their data collection to help them predict and improve yields inside polytunnels.
You can watch all of the pitches from the Geovation Scotland Showcase event.