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Winners of this year’s iFactor Awards were announced and presented
during Innovation Day on 21st April. Guy Jacobs, a director of local
business
Bloofers, presented the iFactor 2010 trophy to Roman Latypov, who
created Smart
Wares.
The annual ceremony celebrates new business concepts and offers participants the opportunity to launch their company, product or service.
iFactor is the finale of the University’s Basics of Building a Business (B3) lecture series, a free resource offering students and local aspiring entrepreneurs expert advice on starting a business from leading industry speakers.
Smart Wares won for its concept of educational toys and products. One range of products is aimed at enabling blind or visually impaired people to achieve equality and access by simplifying the process of learning Braille and making writing much easier. Although this is a niche market, the products can make a real difference for visually impaired children and are therefore likely to be in demand. Another range of products is a set of educational toys aimed at the consumer market, which is growing continuously.
Smart Wares received prize money of £1,000, followed by £750 for second place, and £500 for third place. In addition to the cash prizes, the Knowledge Hub is providing up to £1,000 of free consultancy to the winner to aid business formation, or with intellectual property protection (patent filing, trade marking).
Smart Wares also had a 10-minute slot to pitch the concept to a wider audience during Innovation Day.
The second prize was awarded to Dr. House, a building repairs services company operating in the Attica region of Greece. Third place went to ETIN, for ‘smart’ nappies.
The awards for breakthrough business ideas are run alongside the Basics of Building a Business lectures. We received a wealth of entries from students and members of the public who participated in the series.
Click here for more information on iFactor 2009.
