AccelerateHER Awards 2023 take place at Barclays Glasgow Campus

Four aspiring female company founders have been recognised for their innovative businesses as winners of the AccelerateHER Awards 2023. The winners, from the awards’ four specific categories of Technology; Environment; Culture; and Health, were unveiled at Thursday’s finals event which was held at the new Barclays campus in Glasgow.

The winner in the Technology category, supported by CodeBase, was Stella Smith, founder of pirkx, an online platform which increases accessibility to vital wellbeing benefits.

Taking the award in the Environment category was Beena Sharma, founder of Carbon Capture Utilisation International (CCU). Her company’s technology captures CO2 from industrial emissions, purifies it and transforms it into other revenue generating resources.

Meanwhile the Culture category winner was Katherine Gunderson of Grand Bequest, a BCorp certified business focused on getting empty buildings back into use.

The final category of Health was won by Caroline Laurenson of TL Tech. Her company’s mission is to empower people regardless of age, technical ability or finances to adopt digital solutions and transform their lives by creating a unique caring and entertaining home environment.

Last month, Penelope Carruthers of patented waterwheel developers Carruthers Renewables was announced as this year’s Rising Star. The category recognises a female founder with a great early-stage business idea.

Now in their eighth year, the AccelerateHER Awards provide a springboard to growth for participants by opening doors to new opportunities and market-building connections through the organisation’s global network. The awards, supported by the Scottish Government, Barclays Eagle Labs and Scottish Enterprise, are open to women who are founders or co-founders of companies which are Scottish-based or actively trading in Scotland.