£75K Funding secured by Accelerator Alumnus, EBar Initiatives
Innovative self-service drink company and Elevator Accelerator Alumnus EBar Initiatives was awarded £75,000 at the Scottish EDGE live final event last Thursday (14th December 2017).
The EBar solution to long bar queues at major sports and music events is one step closer to reality, thanks to the Aberdeen start-up’s ambition to provide self-service drink dispensers capable of pouring perfect pints in seconds.
The Scottish EDGE event, held at the prestigious Edinburgh headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland, saw a celebration of Scotland’s entrepreneurial talent with some of the country’s most innovative businesses pitching to win funding from a £1m prize pot.
Thirteen of the country’s most promising entrepreneurs pitched their way to a share in a £1.1 million prize pot in the Scottish EDGE Round 11 Final.
Twenty-two finalists, chosen from over 242 applicants from throughout the country, had just three minutes to pitch their business plans to an expert panel of judges made up of Rob Jones of FanDuel, Jo Bucci of People’s Postcode Lottery, Andy Lothian of Insights, Petra Wetzel of West Brewery and Majella O’Boyle of Royal Bank of Scotland.
Each of the thirteen winners, stood out for their potential to scale quickly and disrupt the market with impressive innovation.
As the UK’s largest funding competition, Scottish EDGE is awarded as a 40% grant and a 60% loan, with a maximum award of up to £150,000. The loan is paid back to help fellow entrepreneurs on their pathway to success. In addition, Scottish EDGE provides mentoring, training and access to professional support.
Sam Pettipher, Co-Founder of EBar Initiatives Ltd, said “we are delighted to have been recognised as one of Scotland’s most innovative companies through an award of £75,000 Scottish EDGE funding. This support will enable us to rapidly accelerate development of the EBar® dispenser; taking us one step closer to significantly improving the bar experience at major events.”
In addition to the funding, EBar's Founders Nick Beeson and Sam Pettipher will benefit from mentorship provided by some of Scotland’s leading entrepreneurs.
EBar Initiatives Ltd was founded in 2016 by two MBA graduates of Robert Gordon University with a vision to radically improve the bar experience at major events. The firm’s EBar® rapid beverage dispenser will allow customers at major events to complete a transaction for two drinks in just 20 seconds – no longer will consumers have to choose between missing a moment of their event and getting a drink.
Scottish EDGE is the UK’s largest funding competition whereby finalists pitch to compete for a prize pot of over £1m. Over the lifetime of the Scottish EDGE competition over 10 million pounds of funding has been provided to Scotland’s top entrepreneurial companies. Scottish EDGE is supported by the Hunter Foundation, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Scottish Government. Funding awarded from Scottish EDGE is awarded as a 40% grant and a 60% loan, with a maximum award of up to £150,000.
Scottish EDGE CEO, Evelyn McDonald said: “The calibre of businesses we’ve seen pitching today has been exceptional and our judges had their work cut out deciding who should be awarded funding. We received a total of 242 applications for Scottish EDGE round eleven from around the country, representing businesses in every sector. The twenty-two businesses who pitched today demonstrated a commitment and intense desire to grow their business and create jobs and wealth for Scotland and I believe many will achieve this.”
Sir Tom Hunter, renowned Scottish entrepreneur and supporter of Scottish EDGE, said: “I love seeing entrepreneurs pitch an idea which they are incredibly passionate about, and attending the Scottish EDGE final is a real highlight for me for that very reason. Through EDGE we’re seeing a renewed spirit of entrepreneurship developing in Scotland, heeding our nation’s proud tradition as innovators. This is not just about money however, all entrants, win or lose, receive support packages to help them on their way and come back again to EDGE when they are ready to do so.”
Check out of the full list of Scottish EDGE winners HERE
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If you wish to contact EBar Initiatives when any appropriate opportunities, please contact Co-Founder Sam Pettipher using the below details:
EBar Initiatives “changing the way the world is served”
Sam Pettipher – +44 (0) 74533 19866
Email – sampettipher@ebar.online