Glasgow tech firm Motovate invests £100,000 to develop ‘revolutionary’ personnel app

A Glasgow-based developer has invested a six-figure sum in the creation of a mobile app it claims could “revolutionise” staff-management in sectors from hospitality to healthcare.

Motovate founder and chief executive Kenny Maclean. Picture: Contributed

With support from Business Gateway, Motovate has pumped £100,000 into developing its white label app as it seeks to build a platform to serve the overseas and domestic markets.

Its technology, currently being trialled by the NHS and delivery giant DHL, is designed to save businesses money and minimise their dependency on agency labour by enabling them to offer shift work to in-house staff.

After showcasing at the Viva Technology Conference in Paris, deemed one of the world’s largest technology festivals, the app is now in trials for a rollout with Accor Hotel Group, which owns a string of brands including Ibis and Mercure.

Motovate has highlighted ambitious plans for international expansion, as its technology can be tailored to various industries and markets.

Key features include allowing employers to determine the real-time availability of staff sorted by geo-location, view employee ratings by managers, identify the number of vacancies, and offer training and rewards for app-users.

The app has benefited from participation in the Scottish Enterprise innovation portal Can Do – a portal for innovation projects to help start-ups engage with global companies and opportunities for growth – and soft-launched in June 2018 through the University of Glasgow’s International Business School competition.

Chief executive Kenny Maclean said: “We’re enormously proud of how far we’ve come with Motovate over the last year. Our close relationship with Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise has helped us to constantly innovate our technology to meet the needs of all users.

“Innovation is about repurposing what’s already out there. It’s not about reinventing the wheel, it’s using the wheel for something else. ”

Lynne Gorman, business adviser at Business Gateway Glasgow, said: “Business Gateway offers publicly funded support at any stage of the business journey.

“Over the years we’ve supported Kenny with a range of specialist support services such as financial oversight, legal and intellectual property advice and one-to-one consultancy support.”

Additionally Maclean, supported by Glasgow City Council, will be a spokesperson at the 2019 VentureFest, a Scottish festival of discovery and innovation.