05 Aug 2019
Healthy Ageing Challenge fund to distribute £12m to SMEs
BY Tom Walker
A new initiative looks to deliver innovation in the healthy ageing market as part of the government's Industrial Strategy.
In total, £12m worth of grants will be distributed to micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and social enterprises which develop measures aiding healthy ageing – including those involving physical activity.
The Healthy Ageing Investment Accelerator is being driven by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), which is now looking for equity investors to partner with it in the process.
The accelerator has been designed to stimulate private investment in business-led research and development, to grow and bring to market healthy ageing products and services that have the potential to be adopted on a wide scale.
Launching on 19 August, the first phase of the process will enable investors committing to an investment between £1m and £6m – which will then be matched by UKRI.
Working with the investment partners, UKRI will then identify innovative SMEs working in healthy ageing technology that are suitable for investment.
All funded projects will need to show how they tackle at least one of seven focus areas – which include sustaining opportunities for physical activity and creating healthy, active places for the ageing population.
In a statement, UKRI said: "We expect funded SME projects will have total eligible project costs of between £100,000 and £1.5m.
"The healthy ageing challenge will support UK government’s mission to ensure people can enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, while narrowing the gap between the experiences of the richest and poorest."
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