Lancashire women win innovation grants and coaching

Two Lancashire-based entrepreneurs have been named among 50 recipients of an innovation award, winning specialist mentoring and a £50,000 grant.

Joanna Power, from Blackpool, is the co-founder of Lylo Products. She was inspired by the world’s shrinking water reserves to create a low-footprint, sustainable washing machine that uses filtered shower water to reduce water usage in the home.

Lisa Edge, from Blackburn, is the founder of GB Shared. She has created the UK's first sustainable digital marketplace enabling businesses to trade, connect, recruit, and win business sustainably and meet their net zero goals. 

They have both been named among the winners of Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards. In addition to the government-backed grant, they will also be given access to one-to-one business coaching, and a suite of networking, role modelling, and training opportunities.

The flagship Women in Innovation Awards is a key part of Innovate UK’s commitment to boosting the number of women entrepreneurs. Now in its sixth year, the competition drew a record number of 920 applications from women business leaders, 10 per cent up from last year. 

Indro Mukerjee, CEO of Innovate UK, said: "The Innovate UK Women in Innovation programme is an important part of our many activities to make a real difference to the talent and skills pipeline for UK business innovation by inspiring, involving and investing in greater diversity.

"I warmly congratulate all the Women in Innovation Award winners and look forward to keeping in touch as they progress."