Announcing the 25 UK Startups Selected to Join Tech Nation’s Libra Cohort 2024

Tech Nation has today announced the UK startups selected for its Libra programme, which champions founders from underrepresented communities across the country. 

Now entering its third year in operation, Libra, which seeks to amplify and connect underrepresented founders, will provide this 25-company cohort with the knowledge, tools and community they need to scale their businesses. 

The UK’s underrepresented founders face numerous challenges along their entrepreneurial journey. 

Between 2009 and 2019, only 0.24% of all venture capital funding was allocated to Black founders. Today, the most significant difficulties are faced by Black women founders who, between 2013 and 2023, raised just 0.14% of venture capital according to Extend Ventures.

To help overcome barriers to progress, Libra will deliver a bespoke six-month programme, comprising one-to-one and group coaching sessions, business development planning, access to funding opportunities and industry-led workshops.

This year, participants will also have the opportunity to pitch their startup to an audience of venture capitalists, angel investors, and business leaders, helping them grow their businesses and make lasting connections. 

Upon the programme’s conclusion, participants gain a lifelong fellowship and join a thriving alumni community where they will continue to access peer-to-peer support, and the tools needed to scale their businesses both across the UK, and internationally, with access to Founders Forum Group’s global entrepreneur network. 

Meet The Libra Cohort

This year’s cohort – of which 56% are founded or co-founded by women and 25% are based outside of London – includes:

aTrace – gain complete control over your supply chain while ensuring seamless last mile deliver

Bakkali – making grocery shopping for cultural communities easier

Brarista – AI enabled bra expert allows women to fit themselves and shop for the right bra using any mobile device’s camera

Bot Theory – the first web 3.0 learning metaverse that rewards children for learning

Deep Loop – supercharges analytics with generative AI

Ecolens – allows you to leverage supply chain data to measure construction emissions

Elifa – offers a secure digital platform vault and information management platform for efficient life planning and legacy preservation

FueGo – a breakthrough mobile application powered by AI that understands you so well, it can pinpoint exactly what you’ll love in your next city adventure

Final Rentals – is on a mission to sky rocket eCommerce sales of car rental companies online

Genzaar – learn to manage money while having fun in the Genzaar game universe

Greenworkx – solving the green skills emergency by building the trade workforce to deliver net zero homes and roads

meCash – seamlessly send and receive money across boarders

Microfon – education financing platform that tailors financing opportunities to help students fund their education

Nowii – gamifies the public transport experience and encourages people to build sustainable travel habits

Playroom – allows you to make meaningful connections between families helping to reduce the mental load of parenting

Tech1M – a powerful platform making it easy for all types of teams to intelligently attract, evaluate and hire the best talents to build their big ideas

TEVR – offering art galleries and artists an immersive customisable virtual space for showcasing and interacting with digital art

Travel Creators – authentic trips curated by our community of travel creators

TRC – one-stop-shop for cities and municipalities to launch smart city services

UNNDOO – a web platform allowing people in the greater London area to search for medically qualified, experienced, insured and vetted facial aesthetic practitioners

Unyte Africa – enables businesses to seamlessly integrate insurance offerings into their platforms enabling them to acquire new users, drive sales, and enhance revenue

Vendoir – one-stop-shop for seamless event planning to help businesses and event planners organise ever-green events in an efficient way

Vieunite – offers a platform for artists to sell their work in a digital format, making it accessible to a global audience

WUKA– designs and makes period pants that are comfortable, reusable and completely replace single-use pads and tampons

Zido – end-to-end solutions from supplier sourcing to invoicing and payment solutions

Announcing the programme, Tech Nation CEO Carolyn Dawson OBE said: “Tech Nation is committed to collaborating with the wider tech ecosystem to tackle the systemic challenges that affect underrepresented founders. 

“We know that a truly innovative and representative tech ecosystem hinges on diversity, and we’re excited to amplify the voices of this talented Libra cohort, helping them to grow their businesses and inspire future generations of founders from all backgrounds.” 

Libra Programme Lead Chantelle Young said: “I’m excited to embark on this entrepreneurial journey with such a determined and talented group. Libra exists to address the systemic disparities in the entrepreneurial landscape, and the founders’ awareness of these challenges only fuels their determination to succeed. I’m so pleased to see cohort members already proactively reaching out and making use of the network and opportunities available to them.

“I look forward not only to supporting founders through events, workshops, and coaching, but being part of tangible change in the industry. Sharing their stories and successes, collecting crucial data and insights, and fostering a tight-knit community alongside alumni who are the building blocks of the transformative impact we aim to achieve through the Libra Programme.”