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Left to Right: Darren Tenkorang (Founder, Trim-it), Elle McIntosh & Alborz Bozorgi (Co-Founders of Twipes).

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We had a very successful event last night at Oxford Brookes University, to talk about this year’s MSDUK Innovation Challenge.

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Attendance was very encouraging, with a good number of entrepreneurs coming along to find out more about the challenge.

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Guest speakers were one of last year’s finalists, Twipes, and mobile barber business Trim-It. They talked about their journeys, how they started and where they are now, and had lots of advice for our guests.

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Feedback from the event was excellent, with attendees saying that the question and answer session with our guests was particularly helpful. MSDUK’s Ervin Picari said: “Our speakers had some great advice for people taking their first steps, especially around fundraising and mentoring.

“They made the point that getting expert mentoring can really make a difference. Twipes talked about how they had benefitted from the advice given them about their marketing plan by their mentors at Accenture.”

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Elle McIntosh & Albozorgi, Co-Founders of Twipes, Runners-up of MSDUK Innovation Challenge 2018. As runners-up they were onboarded onto an 18-month mentoring programme with Accenture & a full scholarship to Ivy League’s Tuck School of Business in Dartmouth, USA for one-week residential on how to scale your startup.

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The Innovation Challenge is open to ethnic minority-led entrepreneurs looking to take their business ideas to the next level. There are some wonderful prizes on offer. These include a £5,000 cash prize of business scholarships to the Ivy League’s Tuck School of Business in the US, mentoring with Accenture and Digital Catapult, and a chance to get to know investors, plus a fast-track opportunity to Techstars’ accelerator programmes.

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But more importantly, it’s a great way to gain experience in some of the skills needed to build a business. Each successful applicant will have their pitches assessed by a panel of highly experienced judges, representing global brands, investors, and entrepreneurs. The feedback gained is invaluable.

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For this year, our theme is ‘Better Ideas for a Better World’. We’re looking for companies with innovative ideas on technologies, products, services or business models in four areas: Industry 4.0, Social Innovation, Healthcare and Wellbeing, and Sustainable Futures.

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For more information on the Innovation Challenge, and to apply, visit us.Applications close 31st May, 2019.