There’s just under a month to go before projects put forward for a cutting edge crowdfunding initiative – run as part of networking event, Venturefest East Midlands – go live, to try and attract investor funding.
The free to attend Venturefest event on Tuesday April 14 at the East Midlands Conference Centre, at the University of Nottingham, will bring together innovators and potential investors. D2N2 – the Local Enterprise Partnership for Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – is a partner in the Venturefest East Midlands’ event; having identified innovation as a key driver behind local economic growth.
Thanks to a partnership between Venturefest East Midlands and Crowdfunder – an organisation set up to help with crowdfunding in the UK – Venturefest East Midlands is launching an exclusive crowdfunding competition for East Midlands based small and medium-sized businesses, with a prize of up to £5,000 in match funding for new and inventive business ideas. Crowdfunding is a way of raising money online for a project from different sources in small amounts.
Businesses who have signed up to attend Venturefest will be invited to add a project onto Crowdfunder and be automatically entered into a tailored Venturefest East Midlands competition to raise the most funds and support via crowdfunding.
Submitted projects will go live on April 1 (2015). The winner with the most pledges by the date of the event – April 14 – will have half of their pledge total matched by Venturefest East Midlands, up to the maximum prize fund of £5,000.
Graeme Roy, Head of Local Innovation at Crowdfunder Local, said: “By launching a project on Crowdfunder, and becoming eligible to win the match funding from the prize pot, the live projects will be promoting their businesses to a wide audience, honing their marketing skills and getting their name heard throughout the area.”
David Ralph, D2N2 Chief Executive – who will be a key member of a panel discussing national and regional innovation strategies at Venturefest East Midlands – added: “Venturefest East Midlands is providing a great platform to showcase new business ideas and, by working with Crowdfunder, we are able to provide a unique and innovative opportunity for East Midlands-based businesses to generate funds, develop, innovate and grow.”
Venturefest East Midlands is a free to attend event. Attendees will be given the opportunity to network, enhance their skills and grow their business.
To learn more about D2N2’s Innovation Plan click here.
