AccelerateHER unveils core sponsors to back Scotland's female entrepreneurs

The 2020 AccelerateHER Awards, a programme to support and promote Scotland’s female entrepreneurs, has unveiled new sponsorship as it announced this year’s semi-finalists.

Jackie Waring: New sponsors bring immense experience to Investing Women's network. Picture: Sandy Young

Global IT and business consultancy CGI will join core supporters Barclays Ventures and Skyscanner, while Aberdein Considine will sponsor this year’s Rising Star Award for the female founder with the best early-stage business idea.

Behavioural science firm Sonas and online “death tech” service Biscuit Tin Planning are among the two dozen semi-finalists in this year’s AccelerateHER awards.

These will be whittled down to a shortlist of 12 who will progress to the final on Thursday 26 March at Barclays Eagle Lab in Edinburgh’s Codebase.

The programme, which connects participants with a network of angel investors, commercial advisers and other businesspeople, is this year focusing on companies in four sectors: medtech and science; fintech and cyber security; cleantech and climate; and disruptive innovation.

Jackie Waring, chief executive of Investing Women, which organises the awards, said: “These and other sponsors add so much value to the AccelerateHER Awards and our wider programme through their own immense experience of supporting a broad range of businesses.”

Lindsay McGranaghan, business unit leader for CGI in Scotland, described the awards as “a fantastic initiative which recognises and supports female-founded businesses in Scotland”.