Venturefest prize winner urges businesses to enter Innovation Showcase Competition

Entries for this year’s Innovation Showcase Competition opened on Monday 29 April, and one of the winners of last year’s competition is encouraging businesses in the borough of Rochdale to enter.

Whitham Mills Engineering, based in Middleton, was established over 20 years ago and won the Innovative Established Business category last year.

Abby Malloy, marketing manager at Whitham Mills Engineering, said: “Attending and winning the Innovation Showcase Competition was an outstanding achievement for our business.

“Often we’re so busy pursuing deals all over the world that we forget the power that comes with being involved on a local level and sharing our services with other SMEs across the North West.

“Winning the Innovative Business award gave us recognition and exposure across the region, helping us forge business connections and even win contacts closer to home.”

Organised by GC Business Growth Hub, part of The Growth Company, the competition is one of the highlights of the Venturefest North West 2019 event, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

This year’s competition has four categories for small and medium-sized businesses to enter:

• Product Innovation
• Service Innovation
• Digital Innovation
• Innovative Established Business

Innovative entries that address the challenge of the aging society, recognising older members of our population are creating new demands for technologies, products and services, are particularly welcome.

Winners of each of the categories will receive a package of business support provided by partners of the Hub, while all applicants will be able to benefit from specialist business advice as part of the competition process.

It’s free to enter and all a business needs to do is fill in a short online form on the Venturefest North West website.

Those shortlisted will then go through to the quarter and semi-final stages, taking place between July and September, before the finalists pitch to an audience of potential customers and investors at Manchester Central on Wednesday 20 November.

In addition, an Audience Award, voted for by Venturefest delegates, will be handed out and an Overall Winner will also be crowned.

Entries for the 2019 Innovation Showcase Competition are now open to SMEs from across the North West.

The deadline for entries is Monday 8 July 2019.

To enter, please visit:

• www.venturefestnorthwest.com/competitions