KPMG launches search for next UK Tech Innovator
KPMG has announced its annual search the next generation of technological talent. The 13th UK Tech Innovator contest aims to give a platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their businesses and collectively champion the future of tech.
Every year, KPMG’s UK Tech Innovator event looks for the best and brightest tech scale-ups that are lighting up the UK. The competition is open to tech and tech enabled businesses, and applications are now open for the UK competition online.
Shortlisted entrants will be invited to pitch their business and growth plans to a panel of judges across regional heats in May and June. Regional winners will progress to the national final, set to take place in London this July. The overall UK champion will then advance to the world stage at the KPMG Global Tech Innovator Competition later in the year, where an international panel of judges will select the Global champion.
Nicole Lowe, Head of Emerging Giants at KPMG UK, said, “Tech sits at the heart of everything we do and the UK provides so many great examples of innovation and potential in this sector, helping to shape our future and form a key part of future growth plans. UK Tech Innovator allows us to shine a spotlight on companies from across the country who are going above and beyond to make waves and help put the UK on the map and attractive to investment. I love being able to use this competition to showcase amazing businesses already making waves but also to find hidden gems just waiting to breakout.”
Last year, Midlands-based Inicio AI beat hundreds of aspiring UK tech firms to win with its use of artificial intelligence to improve how organisations assess customer affordability, initially for those in financial difficulty but now expanding into wealth management.
Rachel Curtis, CEO of Inicio AI, added, “Winning UK Tech Innovator was amazing for us and showcased the extraordinary depth of fintech and tech talent. It was an invaluable experience that allowed us to shine alongside ambitious founders and winning gave us amazing credibility and exposure as we continue our growth journey.”
The consulting sector often hosts participatory events for up-and-coming talent in the UK’s growing technology space. For instance, since 2012, PA Consulting’s annual Raspberry Pi competition has also challenged primary, secondary and college students across the UK to build products using low-cost microcomputers. The global consultancy has now hosted 13 editions of the competition, with the aim of help tackling the growing talent gap in programming and coding.
