Innovative SMEs take top prizes at CityX Business Expo
Innovative businesses Drivernet and The Future Fox took home the top prizes from the urban and mobility innovation pitching competition at our Cityx expo.
Cityx is a two-day expo bringing together leading thinkers, city leaders, academics and SMEs Innovation. The event explores today’s priority urban and mobility innovation challenges and explores how UK businesses are harnessing new technologies to solve them.
24 SMEs pitched their ideas across two days, with housing-related solutions being presented on day one and transport-related solutions on day two. A panel of industry expert judges chose the two winners. Both organisations will now be offered the opportunity to access business support services at the Catapult free of charge to help them grow in their respective markets.
The Future Fox’s digital platform helps planners engage with communities on ambitious housing, transport and infrastructure schemes to accelerate the development of smart, sustainable and people-focused places. Drivernet’s platform helps local authorities and the NHS manage their mobile operations and is currently being used by local authorities in adult social care, special educational needs and schools, non-emergency patient transport and Dial A Rides.
Speaking after the event Connected Places Catapult CEO Nicola Yates OBE said:
“Hearing from SMEs working at the cutting edge of urban and transport innovation has been one of the highlights of Cityx this year. The energy and ingenuity of the UK’s SME community was clearly on show during this competition and the two winners represent the best of a very high-quality field.
Crucially, both solutions showed that new technology innovations can support community engagement and the development of quality connected places that work for everyone. This is a key factor we need to consider as we try to make sense of the digital revolution that is sweeping our built environments.”
Further Reading & Listening
