Special Awards
Entrepreneurship can be a difficult road – that’s why we’re delighted to offer some additional awards to help boost budding academic entrepreneurs.
The Rose Award
Extra Help for Female Founders
If you’re a woman setting up a business, the chances are you face a number of additional challenges. Yet numerous studies show that female-led businesses tend to perform better than those of men.
To help an aspiring female entrepreneur achieve their full potential – and to inspire others to take the first step – we have partnered with the Royal Bank of Scotland to offer The Rose Award. Named after Alison Rose, CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and author of the HM-Treasury commissioned independent review of female entrepreneurship, the Rose Award is open to ambitious female founders from this year’s pool of Converge semi-finalists.
What's in it for you?
Winning this award will give you a real boost - not just to your confidence but your bank balance, connections and profile.
Jodie Sinclair, Theo Health, 2021 Rose Award winner
£10k cash prize
An equity-free cash prize of £10k to progress your business idea
1-2-1 with Alison Rose
A money-can’t-buy mentoring session with the Royal Bank of Scotland’s CEO
PR and promotion
Inclusion in our winners’ press release sent to local, regional and national media
Who can apply?
The award is open to female semi-finalists from our advanced categories (Converge, Net Zero and Create Change). To be considered you need to demonstrate ambition, purpose and be leading a new or prospective business with high-growth potential.
The Cisco Future Tech Award
Supporting Scotland's Tech Start-ups
Scotland’s technology sector could be “world class” according to the recently published Logan review but, to get there, we need a healthy pipeline of tech start-ups. That’s why we’re delighted to have teamed up with Cisco, one of the world’s leading technology companies, to offer a ‘Best in Class’ prize to springboard an innovative, break-through tech company.
What's in it for you?
As well as £10,000 in equity-free cash, this award comes with a tailored package of support from Cisco including technology, advice and mentoring.
Jonathan Feldstein, Bennui.ai, 2021 Cisco Future Tech Award winner
£10k cash prize
An equity-free cash prize of £10k to progress your business idea
Support package
A tailored package of Cisco support including technology, mentoring and advice
PR and promotion
Inclusion in our winners’ press release sent to local, regional and national media
Who can apply?
The award is open to Converge semi-finalists across all sectors but particularly AI, machine learning and cloud security. To be considered you need to demonstrate ambition, purpose and be leading a new or prospective business with high-growth potential.