Tech for Good supports ‘visual LinkedIn’ and gamified skills website
11 September 2013
A “visual LinkedIn” and a gamified strengths and skills website are among 11 businesses granted funding by the Tech for Good Challenge.
Wed, 11 Sep 2013A “visual LinkedIn” and a gamified strengths and skills website are among 11 businesses granted funding by the Tech for Good Challenge.
The Challenge is an initiative run by Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of the magazine of the same name and the Nominet Trust, an entrepreneurial funder exclusively backing social impact projects with a tech element.
The programme involves a collaborative competition called ‘Caterpillars’ Cocoon’, which the organisers say is “the antithesis of Dragons Den”.
Of the 11 companies getting up to £50k funding, two are in the employability and skills space.
Discoverables is a gamified website that helps young people to develop strengths and skills. It helps them to flourish in life and work, and to become more discoverable to employers.
And Flip Yourself is described as “a visual LinkedIn”, visual LinkedIn, enabling young people to record their achievements and collect 360 degree feedback on skills to show off in an employment-ready profile.
Nigel Kershaw OBE, chief executive officer of Big Issue Invest, says: “Unlike Dragons’ Den, all the teams and mentors were winners, benefiting from a true exchange of ideas and learning from each other.
“Most importantly, we have succeeded in what we set out to achieve: bringing ventures and corporations together to create high-growth ventures with a far greater chance of delivering long-term social value and financial returns.”
This initiative supported by five corporate partners: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, LDC, MITIE Foundation, Salesforce Foundation and Unity Trust Bank.
The Challenge is an initiative run by Big Issue Invest, the social investment arm of the magazine of the same name and the Nominet Trust, an entrepreneurial funder exclusively backing social impact projects with a tech element.
The programme involves a collaborative competition called ‘Caterpillars’ Cocoon’, which the organisers say is “the antithesis of Dragons Den”.
Of the 11 companies getting up to £50k funding, two are in the employability and skills space.
Discoverables is a gamified website that helps young people to develop strengths and skills. It helps them to flourish in life and work, and to become more discoverable to employers.
And Flip Yourself is described as “a visual LinkedIn”, visual LinkedIn, enabling young people to record their achievements and collect 360 degree feedback on skills to show off in an employment-ready profile.
Nigel Kershaw OBE, chief executive officer of Big Issue Invest, says: “Unlike Dragons’ Den, all the teams and mentors were winners, benefiting from a true exchange of ideas and learning from each other.
“Most importantly, we have succeeded in what we set out to achieve: bringing ventures and corporations together to create high-growth ventures with a far greater chance of delivering long-term social value and financial returns.”
This initiative supported by five corporate partners: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, LDC, MITIE Foundation, Salesforce Foundation and Unity Trust Bank.
