Super Connect for Good 2021 – Powered by Empact Ventures & Hays

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The Super Connect for Good Competition seeks to discover and super connect the best emerging tech startups and scale-ups creating positive social impact to enhance people’s lives through technology.

In 2021, the Super Connect for Good welcomed applications from Tech for Good startups & scale-ups from across the UK, Ireland and Europe:

- Innovation Streams: Applications are welcome in AI for Good, EdTech, HealthTech, MedTech, FinTech for Good & CleanTech

- Pre-Seed Challenge: For the first time, we’ve introduced this new application stream in partnership with Microsoft for Startups

- Industry Challenge: We’ve introduced a new challenge set by Siemens Mobility to improve public safety through new innovations that support transport infrastructure
- Top 100 Innovation Showcase: Those identified by our Innovation Partners and Judges pitched live to them at our Top 100 Innovation Showcase on 30th September 2021 going head-to-head with the best in your respective innovation stream in the UK, Ireland and Europe

The deadline for applications is now closed

The European Tech for Good Report 2022

Get your copy of our new report powered by Hays in partnership with Empact Ventures showcasing our Top 10 Innovation Winners and listing our Top 100 Finalists

Download the Report

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The Super Connect for Good competition has been featured in the following publications across the UK, Ireland and Europe

Regional and Innovation Streams

The Super Connect for Good Competition is open to any tech startup or scale-ups across the UK, Ireland and Europe in 10 of the below Innovation Streams:

UK and Ireland

North of England (North West, North East, Yorkshire, Midlands)
South of England (South West, South West, East of England)
London
Scotland & Wales
Island of Ireland

European Regions

France and BeNeLux
D-A-C-H & Nordics
Southern Europe
Central and Eastern Europe

Innovation Streams

General Tech for Good
AI for Good
EdTech
HealthTech
MedTech
FinTech for Good
Smart Cities (including IoT, Mobility, 5G)
CleanTech
Industry-Specific Challenge (in partnership with Siemens Mobility)
Pre-Seed Challenge (in partnership with Microsoft for Startups)

How it Works ....

Our Partners

Our 2021 Judges

We have 50+ judges for First Round, Innovation Showcase, Regional Judging and Overall Champion judging with some examples below:

View All Judges

What People Say

"The team at my mhealth are very proud to be the South regional winners in the super connect for good competition. This great initiative has been an opportunity to showcase our digital therapeutics platform and the hard work we have been doing to support the NHS during these trying times. The my mhealth platform hosts a range of digital therapeutic Apps which support people with long term conditions like asthma and diabetes to self-manage more effectively. Our Apps also support clinicians and enable them to look after the people in their care remotely"

Harry Thirkettle, Head of Operations at My mHealth (Bournemouth, UK)

Regional Winner (South of England, 2020) & MedTech Runner-up (2nd Place)

"The entire team at Neatebox has worked tirelessly to bring into existence WelcoMe, a product which will truly revolutionise the way in which society interacts with its disabled members. To be recognised at any time is fantastic but to represent your country in the Super Connect for Good Competition with a product that will fundamentally help millions during a time of incredible disruption is a massive source of pride for us all. It is hard to praise the Empact Ventures team enough. To be involved in Super Connect for Good as a regional finalist for Scotland was fantastic but to go on to win the National Health Tech Award was exceptional, however, any focus on this must be balanced with how the event was run and also how participation and the logistics of such were communicated to myself and my team. This was exceptional and worthy of real note but where the team at Empact Ventures really excels is in their core activity of 'Super Connections'. Had I known how efficient and effective they were in advance I would most certainly have freed up time in my diary to ensure I was free to communicate with the remarkable list of contacts I was subsequently provided with. We will most certainly feel the incredibly positive impact of Empact Ventures' work for some time and I have no qualms at all about putting them at the very top of their sector"

Gavin Neate, Founder & CEO at NeateBox (Glasgow, UK)

Regional Winner (Scotland) & HealthTech (General) Winner 2020

"I hope you have gotten over the adrenaline of running the event today. I thought the event was really slick and clearly well attended. Thank you very much for allowing me to attend as always. It is a real triumph that you managed to pull off an event of that calibre where you got the same feel as one of your in-person events. I thoughtt Beam was a good pick as the winner. "

Alexander Clayhills-Henderson, Former Head of Founder Relations at Angels Den (London, UK)

Regional Judge (East England, 2020)

“We’re delighted to be recognised among some of the most innovative and impactful Tech for Good startups in the UK. At Beam, we believe that technology, when used effectively and collaboratively, has the potential to change millions of lives. It’s inspiring to see the great work that other social impact businesses in the UK are doing to empower the most disadvantaged within society. We as a social enterprise are very proud to have been selected as the national Super Connect for Good winners for 2020, and are looking forward to next year, when we will begin to expand our services beyond London and into other UK cities.”

Alex Stephany; National Winner 2020

Founder of Beam

"It has been incredible being recognised as a regional winner of the Super Connect for Good competition and I have already had the opportunity to connect with a wide network of talented entrepreneurs from across the UK as part of this process. Winning a competition like this is very important for raising the brand awareness of our product and gaining support to progress to the next stage of development. The feedback from the regional judges has been very encouraging and it’s moments like this that help reinforce what you do and why you do it. We are really looking forward to the final and being able to use this as a chance to share our story so that hopefully more people will learn about what we do and how it can benefit them"

Becca Hume, Founder & CEO at TapSoS (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

Regional Winner for Northern Ireland (2020) & National Runner-up (2nd Place)

"Winning the Super Connect for Good - East England Region has helped us reach angel investor networks and also provided us free support from OVHcloud for scaling up. As we look to scale up post our next funding round, we will be supported by the Hays Rise team who can source the ideal team members for us."

Kapil Madan, Founder & CEO at IE Hub (Milton Keynes, UK)

Regional Winner (East England, 2020)

"We were truly delighted to be the MedTech winner in the Super Connect for Good competition for our contribution to increase the quality of life of under-served NHS patient populations suffering with common digestive conditions like IBS, who are struggling to get the care they need especially in pandemic times. We are keen to connect with NIHR and NHS organisations at the summit, and to learn how we can adopt to partnering and commercialisation in the UK in the context of COVID and increased strain on the medical system. The £10k award will allow us to pilot our project within the IAPT services providing psychological therapies for long-term conditions in the UK and with UK NHS practices across the nation. Many thanks for the honour and opportunities to connect!"

Elena Mustatea, Chief Executive at Bold Health (London, UK)

MedTech Winner (2020)

"We wanted to drop you a line and say thank you again for having organised a really great event this week! The event, pitches and content were excellent!"

Anne-Claire Lo Bianco - Community & VC Manager at Microsoft for Startups (London, UK)

Innovation Partner & Judge (AI for Good, 2020)

"We really enjoyed judging the EdTech stream, it was great to see some of the amazing initiatives that are taking place out there and we look forward to seeing how the different companies develop. Hoping that we will be able to work with some of them / signpost them. - Thank you as ever for your fantastic support"

Keith Lee, Partnership Manager at Young Enterprise UK (London, UK)

EdTech Partner & Judge 2020

"It’s been a real honour to win the Regional final for the Tech for good competition, particularly as I know so many startups making a meaningful difference in people’s lives here in Ireland. The Super Connect for Good competition was a great experience, the level of competition was really high so it was a real honour to be selected as the regional winner. The competition only got stiffer on the national stage. The event itself was really well run, particularly with the last-minute shift online, our mission was really well received by the audience and I made several connections through the event itself. The scope of connections the organisation has is really impressive from business supports to, in my case, links to healthcare organisations. We have several meetings scheduled for January that have the potential to help us grow our market significantly. For anyone considering participating in this competition in the future I would definitely recommend it"

Shona D'Arcy - Regional Winner Ireland 2020

Founder of Kids Speech Labs

"We're ecstatic to have been awarded regional winners for the North. Our implant is designed to treat patients with the most common primary brain tumour glioblastoma, deadly cancer that has been overlooked for decades, whilst the survival rate for other cancers has raced ahead. At QV Bioelectronics, our purpose is to create a long-lasting social impact by making our innovative therapy accessible to glioblastoma patients internationally. We are incredibly appreciative that the Superconnect for Good judges saw the value in what we're developing by awarding us 1st place in the North, and we look forward to the national final."

Qasim Akhtar, Business Development Officer at QV Bioelectronics (Manchester, UK)

Regional Winner (North of England, 2020) & MedTech Runner-up (3rd Place)

"The focus of the Super Connect for Good competition is something which CanSense is fully aligned with and so we were thrilled to be West regional winners and runners-up in the national competition. It’s been great publicity and we feel truly honoured to be able to present CanSense to a wider audience. The Empact team have been excellent in helping CanSense connect with other people & organisations that will undoubtedly help us on our journey. It’s not always easy connecting with the right people who can help start-up companies, so having experts like Empact make that ‘warm’ introduction is really important. The connections will hopefully lead to longer-term partnerships and collaborations, from NHS trusts to venture capital investment. "

Adam Bryant, Co-Founder & CEO at CanSense (Swansea, Wales, UK)

Regional Winner (West, 2020) & National Runner-up (3rd Place)

Powered By

The Super Connect for Good Competition seeks to discover and super connect the best emerging tech startups and scale-ups creating positive social impact to enhance people’s lives through technology.

In 2021, the Super Connect for Good welcomed applications from Tech for Good startups & scale-ups from across the UK, Ireland and Europe:

Innovation Streams: Applications are welcome in AI for Good, EdTech, HealthTech, MedTech, FinTech for Good & CleanTech

Pre-Seed Challenge: For the first time, we’ve introduced this new application stream in partnership with Microsoft for Startups

Industry Challenge: We’ve introduced a new challenge set by Siemens Mobility to improve public safety through new innovations that support transport infrastructure

Top 100 Innovation Showcase: Those identified by our Innovation Partners and Judges pitched live to them at our Top 100 Innovation Showcase on 30th September 2021 going head-to-head with the best in your respective innovation stream in the UK, Ireland and Europe

The deadline for applications is now closed

The European Tech for Good Report 2022

Featured In