More start-ups have the edge on funding 

A social shopping platform, a surgical skills simulator and a robot designed to inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists, were among winners of Scottish EDGE funding last month.

Blusho is a beauty site driven by user-generated content; people can sign-up, share their favourite looks and shop for products. “Winning Scottish EDGE means we’ll be able fast track our UK growth and take the platform globally more quickly,” said Glasgow-based founder Carla Mackay.

Edinburgh-based eoSurgical develops surgical simulator hardware, performance assessment software and a cloud-based portfolio of support, enabling surgeons to improve their skills

in a simulated environment. “This is a huge boost to our mission of making surgery safer globally by providing accessible skills-training tools,” said cofounder and managing director Roland Partridge.

And Alexander Enoch, who has a Phd in walking robotics, created Marty to teach young people about engineering and coding (see interview, page 4). The three won a combined £190,000 while in total, £1.27m was awarded in the latest round of funding.

Gordon Merrylees, Scottish EDGE board member and head of entrepreneurship at Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest, said: “The Scottish EDGE has had a huge impact on Scotland’s economy, with our alumni generating an additional £31.80m

in turnover, securing £28.36m in additional investment and creating 641 jobs since receiving their Scottish EDGE funding and support. We’re looking forward to continued success as the winners join our group of high-achieving alumni.”

Scottish EDGE Chief Executive Officer Evelyn McDonald added: “A Scottish EDGE final is always a day to remember. We received a total of 239 applications from around the country for round eight, representing businesses in every sector. For those who didn’t win this time round it is not a ‘no’, it’s a ‘not yet’. We look forward to opening round nine in August and encourage new and old applicants to apply.”

www.scotedge.com