The Robert Gordon University Startup Accelerator is reaching it’s finale as innovative early-stage startups prepare for the Startup Showcase event on Thursday, May 16 at the RGU campus.
2024 marks the sixth year of the programme, with 16 selected startups regularly travelling from as far as Ethiopia, London and Edinburgh to participate in the in-person Aberdeen sessions.
At the Showcase, RGU staff, students and graduate led startups will exhibit their ideas before finalists take to the stage to pitch to international entrepreneurs, special guests, three high-profile judges and a live audience both in attendance and online.
Over £20,000 worth of equity-free prize money is to be won on the night, with prizes including the Innovation Award and the Community Impact Award, as chosen by judges, with the hotly contested Audience Award, as ever being determined by the live audience vote.
Every year the Showcase audience is taken back to the future as innovative startups pitch what could be the future of healthcare, sport etc. This along with the showcase exhibition, the prize pot, and the opportunity for networking with investors and influential guests makes the Showcase one of Aberdeen’s most anticipated business events of the year.
Over the years, the RGU Startup Accelerator programme, has supported over 120 businesses that have created new jobs and helped make a positive economic and social impact in the North-east region and beyond.
A recent startup success story from the programme, Everybody Counts, part of the 2022 cohort, recently raised £1million, including £500,000 from Innovate UK, after securing international partnerships in the US and beyond, for their Maths EdTech programme. Currently everybody counts international projects are part funded by UNICEF and UNESCO, they are also representing the UK on a trade mission later this year and will be flying in to present at the Showcase.
In-person attendance is limited with but spaces may become available by registering your interest. The event will be live streamed online via RGU social media channels.
See more on the event here.