Regional winners of the prestigious Barclays Entrepreneur Awards, which celebrate the success of businesses in Scotland and across the UK, have been revealed today, August 27.
Following a rigorous judging process, the regional shortlist has been revealed, with Scottish winners highlighted across the following categories, representing start-ups, scale-ups and businesses celebrating international expansion.
Scottish award winners in each category are:
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Category
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Winner (name, business)
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Social Entrepreneur of the Year
for entrepreneurs delivering transformative, social or environmental change
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Alex Papanikolaou, Freedom One Life
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Scale-up Entrepreneur of the Year
for established entrepreneurs who’ve experienced rapid growth
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Chitresh Sharma, Swipii Labs Ltd
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Icon of the Year
for prominent entrepreneurs leading the way for existing and future entrepreneurs
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Bob Keiller CBE
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International Expansion of the Year
for high growth businesses growing beyond the UK at pace
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TAG Digital, Laura Davidson
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Eagle Labs Innovation Award
for lab residents making an impact through digital innovation
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Colin Hewitt, Float and
John Peebles, Administrate
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Launched in 2016, the awards are a celebration of Barclays’ most innovative entrepreneurs and businesses and are judged by a panel of regional and national experts from the wider entrepreneurial eco-system. The programme enables Barclays colleagues to nominate clients and recognise their entrepreneurial successes, leadership and positive impact on the community.
Stuart Brown, head of SME Scotland, Barclays, commented: “It’s great to celebrate Scottish business successes through our Entrepreneur Awards and give recognition to the entrepreneurs and start-ups who are progressing and excelling in their fields. Scotland is an extremely dynamic and attractive market for businesses of all sizes – especially scale-ups and entrepreneurs – and these awards showcase the valuable contribution these businesses make to the Scottish economy.
“Now in its third year, the awards programme has proved a valuable and influential business contest with fierce competition across the country. Entrepreneurs play a critical role in Scottish industry, with innovative services and products, helping to stimulate economic growth and create jobs across the country.”
Regional winners from seven UK areas will now progress to the final, national stage of judging, with overall winners announced at an awards ceremony on Wednesday, October 10, 2018.