World’s top graduate entrepreneurial talent hits UK shores | WPN World People News

The 10 latest international start-ups to choose the UK as a base for their budding business have been announced.

27 graduate entrepreneurs make up the start-up teams from 15 different countries worldwide, including Brazil, India, China, the USA, Jamaica, Romania, Denmark, Sweden and Argentina.

More than 1,500 graduate entrepreneurs from over 93 countries have entered the first year of UK Trade & Investment’s (UKTI) Sirius Programme. The pioneering scheme invites talented young entrepreneurs with world-class start-up ideas to get their business off the ground in the UK, helping boost Britain’s enterprise community, creating jobs and inviting foreign investment. Of these applicants, over 30 teams will relocate to the UK by June 2014.

Trade and Investment Minister Lord Livingston said:

“The Sirius Programme backs the most talented, hard-working, innovative start-ups with the potential to become the Facebook or Dyson of their generation. We are offering the most comprehensive start-up support package in Europe and one of the best in the world.

“Ensuring that the UK becomes the country of choice for talented graduates to start and grow their businesses will help economic growth, boost productivity and create jobs”

Successful business ideas and inventions in the latest round of applications include:

•A wearable Oyster card-style wallet that can be used to pay for anything;
•An online tool for booking meeting rooms, work spaces and event venues; and
•A photography marketplace that enables image buyers to set any brief and have bespoke images delivered by photographers from anywhere in the world.

Alexis Garavel, a graduate of the French Aerospace Engineering School and a co-founder of SunEos, one of the winning Sirius Programme teams said:

“Until now, contactless payment has been the preserve of the major card providers and SMEs haven’t been able to access the market. SunEos will change all that, at the same time as revolutionising the UK’s social scene. At a SunEos-powered gig, festival or party you don’t need a wallet, you don’t need to queue - you can just concentrate on having a great time. Event organisers can access an unprecedented level of intelligence about what their customers want from their events, enabling them to cut out waste and design experiences that perfectly chime with consumer needs.

“It’s very exciting for SunEos to be part of the Sirius Programme especially as we get to own the business 100% - one of the key benefits of the Programme is that we don’t need to give up any equity. We can’t wait to start tapping into the extensive networks the Sirius Programme offers and to start growing our business with confidence knowing we have the support of our Accelerator and UKTI. Young people are our early adopters so, with the most concentrated student scene in Europe, the UK is by far the best place to establish our business.”

The Sirius Programme aims to attract hundreds of talented entrepreneurs into the UK in its first two years. Advantages of starting up in the UK include access to 500 million customers in Europe (62 million in the UK) and the fact that these consumers tend to be early adopters, keen to test and try new innovations.

To register your interest in the Sirius Programme visit www.siriusprogramme.com or follow @SiriusProgramme on Twitter.

Source: UK Department for Business, Innovation & Skills