North East pioneers in innovation honoured at business awards
Celebrating the very best in regional innovation, the North East Innovation Awards was a stand out feature of this year’s VentureFest North East – a flagship innovation event that brings together entrepreneurs, SMEs, investors, and industry leaders for a packed agenda designed to spark growth and unlock potential.
The event, which is now in its 11th year, is delivered by Innovation SuperNetwork (ISN), powered by UMi. Since its inception, VentureFest has been a catalyst for transformative business connections and opportunities in the North East. Past attendees have gone on to secure funding, land major contracts, and form strategic partnerships that have fuelled their growth.
Nicki Clark, CEO at UMi said: “The businesses shortlisted for the awards are innovating at the forefront of their sectors to develop impactful ideas to help us to tackle some of the most pressing challenges that we face in the region.
“VentureFest has a legacy of delivering real results for businesses by bringing together talent, entrepreneurship, research and ideas. The Awards help us to really celebrate organisations and innovators from across the North East and the winners in each category demonstrate the range of ideas flourishing right here in our region. Congratulations to all winners and nominees, I can’t wait to see where their journey takes them and what they achieve next.”
ISN collaborated with key partners to decide the winners of each category, including award sponsors Northern Accelerator, Creative UK, and Innovate UK.
The tenth category, ‘Innovation of the Year’, was selected by delegates on the day who voted for their favourite Innovation Showcase business. This year’s winner was SQDP, a business working to improve other’s manufacturing performance through replacing paper systems with leaner replacements.
The winners are:
Start Up Award: Spotlight Health
https://www.spotlighthealth.ai/
Scale Up Award: NunaBio
https://nunabio.com/
Sustainable Innovation of the Year: NunaBio
https://nunabio.com/
Inclusive Innovation Award: We Are Active Soles
https://www.activefamiliesne.co.uk/
Innovation Champion Award: Mark Renney, Wubbleyou
https://www.wubbleyou.co.uk/
University Spinout of the Year: METzero Technologies
https://metzero.co.uk/
Innovation of the Year Award: SQCDP
https://sqcdp.co.uk/
Taking place at Newcastle’s Civic Centre on 18 March 2025, the day also offered a dynamic mix of keynote speeches, expert panels, practical workshops, live pitching sessions, and the brand-new Cyber Local Supplier Village.
This year’s event was backed by leading organisations in the North East’s innovation and funding landscape, supported by the North East Combined Authority, as well as sponsors of the Innovation Showcase; Creative UK, main stage sponsors; British Business Bank, and workshop sponsors; NortHFuture.
For businesses looking to scale, secure investment, or connect with the right people in the right places, this was the event to attend.