Welcome to my weekly South West Tech News roundup, where you can get all the headlines from the past week in one place.

What has our busy tech and digital community been up to this week? From award wins and innovative breakthroughs to unmissable events and capital raised, take a moment to reflect on the hive of daily activity taking place in our region.

If you have a story to share, wizz it over to shona@techspark.co – I look forward to hearing from you!

Enterprising Women opens for fourth year from UK’s top startup hub

Enterprising Women, a free business support programme for aspiring women founders, has launched for its fourth year.

The programme is delivered by SETsquared Bristol, the University of Bristol-led tech incubator that was recently ranked the UK’s Top Startup Hub by the Financial Times.

Over the course of 6-months, founders receive mentoring, coaching, workshops, online training and introductions to a network of advisers and investors. Enterprising Women is fully-funded by NatWest. 

Enterprising Women 4.0 will run from October 2024 to March 2025, concluding with a showcase and pitching event in Spring 2025 to recognise the awardees’ achievements. Those who would like to find out more about the programme are encouraged to sign up to the launch event on Wednesday 12 June at Bristol’s Engine Shed from 12-2.30 pm. 

Enterprising Women is open to early-stage founders in the UK who identify as women or non-binary assigned female at birth with tech, tech-enabled or non-tech startups, business ideas or side hustles. Apply by 31 July.

World-first technology offers breakthrough in water quality testing

For the first time, water quality can now be assessed in a matter of minutes with the roll-out of new Bacterisk technology from Molendotech. 

The University of Plymouth spin-out has developed the technology, which gives an accurate running water quality assessment in the field for the first time, with results available in just 15 minutes. Historically, water quality testing has taken up to 48 hours and required testing in a laboratory. The Bacterisk kit is portable and can be carried in a briefcase, allowing water utilities and other stakeholders to rapidly and accurately assess water quality on the spot. 

New chair appointed to the innovative partnership-led Bristol Local Access Programme

Innovative local partnership, the Bristol Local Access Programme (LAP), created to develop stronger and more sustainable social enterprises in Bristol, has appointed former chair of both Investing for Good and EIRIS Sally Britton, as its new independent chair.

 The LAP has played a significant role in supporting the growth of social enterprises in the city since its inception in 2021, providing around £2.5m funding in the form of small grants, repayable loans and business support to around 130 locally based social enterprises. Last month it announced a second round of funding and support, injecting a further £1.3m into the sector over the next 12 months.

Isambard-AI greenest supercomputer in UK

The UK’S fastest and most powerful supercomputer, located at the University of Bristol, is now officially online, with pioneering technology helping to make the UK a world leader in artificial intelligence.

As it goes live, the multimillion Isambard-AI has appeared in the global power rankings for the fastest and is now officially the most sustainable supercomputer in the UK. It is second greenest in the world as it shoots into the top two of the ISC’s Green500. 

Read more on our article here.

MotherBoard joins the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce

The Founder of Bristol-based MotherBoard, Sophie Creese has joined the Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce and will work with the City of London Corporation to help mid-career women pivot to digital roles. The aim is to address the underrepresentation of women working in digital careers by providing women with vital skills in order future-proof the digital workforce.

The Women Pivoting to Digital Taskforce brings together business, government, third sector, and industry groups to bring more attention to and action around supporting women from non-technical backgrounds to career change into technology roles.  29th April marked the commencement of the Taskforce. 

Shona Wright

Shona covers all things editorial at TechSPARK. She publishes news articles, interviews and features about our fantastic tech and digital ecosystem, working with startups and scaleups to spread the word about the cool things they're up to. She also oversees TechSPARK's social media, sharing the latest updates on everything from investment news to green tech meetups and inspirational stories.

Bath Bristol incl