Enterprise Showcase honours entrepreneurs
The entrepreneurial spirit of students, staff and graduates was honoured at the University of Portsmouth’s annual Enterprise Showcase.
A packed exhibition of student and alumni businesses opened the event, giving the young people behind the start-ups the chance to share their experiences with guests from the worlds of business and academia.
Then 150 nominees and guests in the main auditorium at Portland Building enjoyed an awards ceremony which saw eight students, graduates and members of staff recognised for their contribution to business.
Winner of the Student and Graduate Start-up of the Year award was JustFastFood, founded by Kunle Adetayo, who has developed his on-demand fast food delivery platform into a thriving business.
Kunle has secured a place on one of Europe’s top enterprise accelerators and raised significant investment funding.
He said: “I’m so happy to have won Start-up of the Year. I have had so much support from the Enterprise Team at the University. Without them the business would not be where it is today, and it’s great to get JustFastFood recognised. We are working really hard on the business, so it’s great to be able to take some time out and celebrate our success so far.”
His prize last night was business support worth more than £1,000, donated by local companies.
The other winners were:
Route to Start-up Standout Student: Morgan Makale (founder of Auctus Grad)
Self-Employment Placement Standout Student -Tristan Bampton, Scott Davis, Martin Mitev, Oliver Thauerer, Matthew Evans, Matthew Whitby (Broken Earth Games Studio)
Social Start-up Award: Nikolas Pachipis, SolarLife
Santander Start-up Funding Award: Hannah Mitchell (founder of Hayze Lingerie)
Student and Graduate Entrepreneurial Spirit of the Year: Howard Wimshurst
Staff Entrepreneurial Spirit of the Year: Dan McCabe from the Faculty of Creative & Cultural Arts
Meanwhile, the Alumni Recognition Award went to Andrew Martin, a 2014 graduate of the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Arts and co-founder of Inkpact, a direct marketing company specialising in handwritten communications. Andrew was also a keynote speaker at the event.
University of Portsmouth Enterprise Manager Philip Ely said: “Portsmouth is fast becoming a hub for start-ups, and our students and graduates are not short of great ideas or ambition.
“Events like our showcase shed light on the innovative work taking place in the city that deserves national recognition.”
Find out more about the University’s student enterprise activities by emailing nest@port.ac.uk or go to www.nest.community.
