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South Bank Ignite

Fuelling and funding founders, freelancers, innovators, social activists, and dreamers at LSBU.
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SOUTH BANK IGNITE 2025

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Meet the 2024 Participants

Be inspired by the ideas that wowed us at the 2024 competition.

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07 August 2024 - 28 August 2024

Open Hours of Start-Up and Freelancing Support

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Sign up to be the first to know about the launch of the 2024-2025 South Bank Ignite competition and more opportunities.

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More Competitions and Funding Opportunities

Competitions offer you a chance to test your idea, network with other innovators and industry experts, gather feedback on your business, build entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, and more.

Below are a few external competition and funding opportunities for the LSBU students, alums, staff, and/or community members.

Stay up-to-date on all competitions and challenges by connecting with us on LinkedIn.

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Hult Prize – Win $1 million to solve the world's most pressing issues with your innovative social venture

The Hult Prize challenges young people around the world to solve the planet's most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship – and giving them $1 million to do it!

Deadline: February 2024

Cost: Free

Prizes: Every year, one team receives $1M USD in funding to make their idea a reality.

Award Categories: You can pitch any idea you have for a social enterprise, as long as it is world-changing and aligned with at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Eligibility: To apply, you need to be:

  • You must currently be a student enrolled in a degree seeking program.
  • Teams must be between 3 - 5 members. All students must be from the same university, with an additional option to have one, that can be from a different university.
  • You must be at least 18 years of age to compete.

Additional Support: South Bank Starters is here to help you with your application and making the best impression for this competition. Set up a 1-2-1 appointment to talk about this competition.

For more information, please visit https://www.hultprize.org/

Innovate UK Women in Innovation – Get a £75k grant and bespoke business support

Innovate UK Women in Innovation enables brilliant women to achieve their vision for their businesses and change the world, while championing and celebrating gender diversity throughout UK innovation.

Deadline: Wednesday 10 July at 11am

Cost: Free

Prizes: The total project costs will be 100% funded. Total project costs detailed within the application must not exceed the £75,000 grant funding amount. As an award holder you will also receive tailored business support, including but not limited to:

  • funding and finance options and how to access these
  • media and communications, for example, branding
  • developing new business models
  • evaluating market opportunities
  • finding new partners
  • growth and scale up
  • developing international collaborations and accessing global markets
  • business planning strategy

Eligibility:

To lead a project you must:

  • be a woman founder, co-founder or senior decision maker within a UK registered micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) that has been registered on Companies House for at least 12 months
  • be a resident in the UK
  • attend two development days in 2025
  • be fully committed to volunteer as a role model for at least five days over the duration of the award

Your project must:

  • have a grant funding request of up to £75,000
  • last for 12 months
  • carry out all of its project work in the UK
  • intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
  • start on 1 December 2024
  • end on 30 November 2025

Additional Support: South Bank Starters is here to help you with your application and making the best impression for this competition. Set up a 1-2-1 appointment to talk about this competition.

For more information, please visit https://iuk.ktn-uk.org/opportunities/women-in-innovation-awards-2024-25/

Ignite Competition – Spark your social impact and win £50K

The Ignite Competition is looking for the next social impact trailblazers emerging from UK universities to come and pitch their social enterprise for the opportunity to win a share of the incredible £50,000 Impact Accelerator Fund.

Deadline: Friday, 19 July 2024

Cost: Free

Prizes: A share of our incredible £50,000 Impact Accelerator Fund, with a top prize of £20,000 and a tailored support package up for grabs.

Eligibility:

  • At least one team member must have graduated from a UK university in the past 3 years.
  • Applicants must be from an existing organisation beyond concept, not as an individual.
  • Be able to provide demonstrable evidence of impact and commitment to social and environmental goals.
  • Have a turnover and/or previous funding of under £100,000.
  • Must be available for a live pitching final in October based in London.
  • A plan to generate 50% or more of income through trading within 3 years.
  • Be a social enterprise built for impact with a legal structure to support the commitment to social change. This should include at least one of the following characteristics: an asset lock, a mission statements, articles or a written commitment to impact, a formal commitment to reinvest profits into the business, beneficiaries or community.

Additional Support: South Bank Starters is here to help you with your application and making the best impression for this competition. Set up a 1-2-1 appointment to talk about this competition.

For more information, please visit https://ignitecomp.co.uk/

Your Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) – Commercialise your post-graduate idea

YES is an innovative global competition developed to raise awareness among Master and PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, research fellows and technicians how ideas can be commercialised.

Deadline: Sunday,28 July 2024

Cost: £650

Prizes: Compete for a prize fund of £10k

Award Categories: Themes for YES24 include

  • Biomedical
  • energy, engineering and environmental
  • food and drink
  • sustainable agriculture

Eligibility: You can enter YES24 if, at the time of participation, you are:

  • a technician
  • registered as a postgraduate: Master, PhD, postdoctoral researcher or research fellow
  • an early career academic or knowledge exchange: completed a PhD, postdoc or fellowship typically within the past 18 months

There is no age limit for those wishing to participate.

Participants welcome from universities outside of the UK.

Additional Support: Join an Awareness Sessions: https://www.yescompetitions.co.uk/awareness-sessions.aspx. South Bank Starters is here to help you with your application and making the best impression for this competition. Set up a 1-2-1 appointment to talk about this competition.

For more information, please visit https://www.yescompetitions.co.uk/

Entrepreneurship World Cup - $1 Million up for grabs in the largest pitch competition

The Entrepreneurship World Cup gives everyone who enters access to the knowledge, networks and for some, the capital they need to start and scale a company.

Deadline: Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Cost: Free

Prizes: Prizes include training, resources, connections, mentorship and more. Plus, the participants have a chance to win a number of impactful prizes – USD $1 million in cash and/or investment total for the global winners plus in-kind support for the top 100 global finalists, not to mention investment opportunities and awesome resources and perks from our leading partners.

Award Categories: Award categories include business development stage as well as sector specific categories including:

  • Health + Wellness
  • Economies of the Future
  • Energy + Industrial Leadership
  • Sustainable Environment + Supply of Essential Needs

Eligibility:

  • Any startup from around the world is welcome to apply and become an Applicant.
  • Applicant startups must be legally registered or planning to register in their country of residence.
  • Applicant startups must be ten years or less old by the date of the Global Finals. Entity age is set by the date of company registration and not idea conception.

Additional Support: South Bank Starters is here to help you with your application and making the best impression for this competition. Set up a 1-2-1 appointment to talk about this competition.

For more information, please visit https://www.genglobal.org/ewc/apply.

Connect with South Bank Starters

South Bank Starters is here to guide, support, inspire, and motivate you. Find ways to connect with the team and your community of entrepreneurial minded individuals. You can email us at studententerprise@lsbu.ac.uk.

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