Published: 15 Jun 2018
A Glasgow-based start-up business has won £50,000 and a business support package as part of Scottish EDGE - Scotland’s leading business competition for innovative, high growth potential entrepreneurial talent, supported by Creative Scotland.
Last year, Scottish EDGE partnered with the Cultural Enterprise Office and Creative Scotland to launch the Creative EDGE Award. The prize of £50,000 – 60% loan 40% grant - was keenly contested in this round of the competition with the Creative Sector being the highest sector represented at application stage.
We’re pleased to continue to support some of Scotland’s brightest creative innovators through these awards. It’s been really exciting to see smart ideas turned into businesses that have the power to transform lives.- Clive Gillman, Director of Creative Industries
The winner of this latest award is Curious Chip. Founded by Sukhvir Dhillon & Jason Frame, the business is on a mission to prepare today’s children for tomorrow’s jobs. Being able to write code is fast becoming a vital skill in a rapidly changing world. Most products that seek to teach coding are focused on puzzle solving or rote memorisation. Pip is a handheld computer that combines programmability, expandability and high-performance graphics into a portable, attractive and easy-to-use package.
Curious Chip was one of 25 businesses to receive funding of just under £1m as part of the Scottish EDGE’s twelfth competition round, which launched in February of this year. Scottish EDGE, which looks to support Scotland’s innovative, high-growth potential entrepreneurial talent, received almost 250 applications for the current competition round.
Clive Gillman, Director of Creative Industries, Creative Scotland, said: “We’re pleased to continue to support some of Scotland’s brightest creative innovators through these awards. It’s been really exciting to see smart ideas turned into businesses that have the power to transform the lives of many people, and to see first-hand the skills, ambitions and creative purpose embodied in everyone who has taken part. Huge congratulations to Curious Chip, who are working to help young people learn how to code through their engaging low-cost hand-held Pip computer.”
Sukhvir & Jason were presented their award by Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop MSP. Announcing the award on Thursday evening, Scottish EDGE COO, Steven Hamill, said; “Curious Chip’s innovative product, ‘Pip’ which is designed to teach children the fundamentals of programming stood out on the day not just to win an award, but to gain the prestigious title of Creative EDGE winner.”
Scottish EDGE consists of three competition categories: Scottish EDGE, Young EDGE and Wild Card EDGE and two special awards within the Scottish EDGE category: Higgs EDGE for Science, Technology and Engineering focused businesses; and Creative EDGE sponsored by Creative Scotland and Cultural Enterprise Office, for Creative Industry businesses.
All companies that apply and meet the eligibility criteria will be entered in to and assessed for the main Scottish EDGE competition. Companies that subsequently meet the criteria for Young EDGE and Wild Card EDGE will also go forward and be assessed in these categories.
If eligibility standards are met a company can be considered for all three Scottish EDGE categories and could potentially win an award for Young EDGE and Wild Card EDGE and Scottish EDGE up to a maximum of £100,000 (£150,000 for Higgs EDGE Award).
Rounds 1-11 resulted in:
Since the first Scottish EDGE awards were made in February 2013 a total of:
