The names of the female-led startups picked for the inaugural London-based Plexiglass tech accelerator were announced today.
A dozen early stage companies, selected from the 80 who applied, will join the East London Innovation Centre, Plexal, based at Here East, for an eight week programme. London Mayor Sadiq Khan officially opened Plexal last year, as part of London Tech Week. And Plexiglass, supported by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and Barclays Eagle Labs, is in line with the facility’s ambition to become the beating heart of inventive enterprise.
“We are very excited to be able to help these amazing women pursue their entrepreneurial visions. When we launched Plexiglass, we were originally going to offer 10 places; however, the high quality of the entries meant the judges decided to award 12, which is a reflection of the incredible female talent out there. As we enter the fourth industrial revolution we need a diverse technology sector to make the most of the massive opportunities in front of us, which is why programmes like Plexiglass are so important,” said Claire Cockerton, Plexal founder & CEO.
Dual Good Health, founded by Anna Stoilova, a startup that uses VR to train people how to save lives; and vertical farming business, GrowUp Urban Farms, co-founded by Kate Hofman, are two of the pioneering companies taking part in Plexiglass.
All the startups will receive mentoring and access to expert training and financial advice.
Check out some of the opinions from our recent Twitter chat, hosted with Knowledge4Innovation, for more on the need to achieve gender equality in STEM fields.
