Students present plan to tackle growing issue of e-waste recycling at international entrepreneurship competition
Students from Nottingham Business School have pitched their idea to tackle the growing issue of electronic waste through recycling and recovering precious metals at a prestigious international entrepreneurship competition.
Five MSc Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship students – Luke Hailstone, Devansh Poddar, Eugene Oigara, Pierre Louis, and Ajinkya Khairnar – visited Nairobi, Kenya, to take part in The Hult Prize, which challenges young people to solve the world’s most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship.
Rapid technological advancements coupled with short lifespans of products has led to a growing problem of electronic waste.
According to the World Health Organisation, e-waste is the fastest growing solid waste stream in the world. In 2019, an estimated 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste were produced worldwide, but only 17.4% was recycled. With the remainder of waste sent to landfill or burned, e-waste can release lead into the environment and have an adverse impact on human health.
The NBS team, who hail from Kenya, India, France, and the UK, presented their Imagination Engineering business concept which uses ‘urban mining’ to address the issue.
The innovative method uses naturally occurring microorganisms to break down e-waste and recover precious metals like gold, silver, and copper, providing a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional recycling methods.
Their pitch included the creation of a state-of-the-art bioleaching facility, equipped with advanced equipment, and managed by a team of experienced microbiologists and waste management experts. The facility is designed to offer comprehensive e-waste recycling services to businesses, governments, and individuals looking to dispose of their electronic devices responsibly.
To create a prototype, the group conducted research with e-waste recyclers and other stakeholders in the e-waste recycling industry to understand any challenges and receive feedback on usability, efficiency, and effectiveness in recovering valuable materials from e-waste. Their business plan, which also had to consider financial sustainability and potential barriers to taking the product to market, was improved and refined throughout the process.
The Hult Prize receives thousands of entries each year and only a selection are chosen to go through to summit events across the world, where ideas are pitched to a panel of esteemed judges, global business leaders, and thought leaders. While the Imagination Engineering team didn’t progress to the final, the group valued the experience and the opportunity to share their business plan.
Devansh Poddar, age 23, from Mumbai, said: “One of the biggest challenges we faced was aligning our scientific research with market needs and ensuring our solution was both technically feasible and commercially viable.
“I learned a great deal about project management and the importance of aligning technical solutions with market demands. This will be beneficial as we move forward with our careers and future projects.
“A standout moment for me was pitching to the judges and receiving recognition for our idea. It was a validation of our hard work and creativity, and it gave us the confidence to continue pursuing our vision.”
Luke Hailstone, 23, from London, added: “One of the most memorable moments for me was networking with other teams and learning about their innovative solutions. The exchange of ideas and the supportive community at the summit were truly inspiring.
“A significant challenge we faced was refining our pitch under time pressure and ensuring that our complex scientific concept was communicated clearly and effectively to a non-technical audience.
“This experience taught me the importance of adaptability and clear communication, which I believe will be invaluable in my future endeavours.”
Paul Wreaves, course leader for MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at NBS, said: “To reach the summit stages of The Hult Prize is a fantastic achievement, and the team received some very positive feedback.
“Their unique qualities, education, and professional backgrounds, combined with their shared vision and dedication, make them exceptionally well-suited to transform their venture into a reality and drive meaningful change in the e-waste management sector should they decide to pursue the idea.”
Barwood Capital acquires site in Lincoln in new strategy focused on self-storage sector
Barwood Capital has acquired its first site in Lincoln, as part of a new investment strategy focused on the growing self-storage sector which will see the company partner with self-storage specialist, Flexiss.
The acquisition was made through the Barwood Regional Property Growth Fund V. Barwood is partnering with Flexiss as an operator and development partner for the new strategy, helping to acquire vacant buildings to be transformed into modern, energy efficient self-storage assets.
Flexiss currently has c.£200m in assets under management, including new build development projects and conversion projects. The new facilities acquired in partnership with Barwood will trade through its SureStore brand.
This first acquisition centres on the Scott Storage Centre Facility, which sits within the Lincoln Westminster Industrial Estate and currently includes a purpose-built storage and removals operation, totalling 14,500 sq ft, plus 13,885 sq ft of external storage containers.
Barwood has acquired the freehold interest in this prime location and plans to repurpose the existing unit into a state-of-the-art self-storage facility with a full SureStore rebrand in early 2025. Once complete, the new store will incorporate 60,840 sq ft of space arranged over four floors, including 6,840 sq ft of external containers.
The plans target an EPC rating of A, with new features including a solar array, EV charging points and motion sensor activated energy-efficient LED lighting.
“The self-storage sector is currently under-served, with demand from both individuals and businesses, and our aim is to create a regionally focused portfolio of assets to support the sector’s growth,” said Edward Henson, Director, Head of Transactions at Barwood Capital.
“This first acquisition is a unique opportunity to create a high-quality facility, in an area where there’s an acute under-supply of self-storage accommodation. The facility will offer a cost-effective solution for domestic and business customers in the area and create direct employment opportunities.
“As with all our projects, environmental responsibility has been among the priorities; our stores will be run with the highest energy efficiencies, keeping our offering cost effective for our customers and our environmental impact to a minimum.”
Mike Wilson, CEO of Flexiss, said: “We are proud to be working in partnership with Barwood Capital on this project, which will be the first in a number of projects together. We are delighted to be able to offer our customers in Lincoln innovative, sustainable and convenient self-storage solutions.”
CBRE gave agency advice, with Napthens and Osborne Clarke giving legal advice on the purchase and structure.
Van Elle awarded project at former Boots site in Nottingham
Van Elle, the ground engineering contractor, has been awarded a scheme by Keepmoat at the former Boots site in Nottingham.
The scheme is worth up to £3m across several phases and is the largest single scheme awarded to its Housing division in the last 12 months.
This will be the 15th project over the last three years that Van Elle has delivered for Keepmoat.
This project will create a blueprint for a new strategic collaboration between Van Elle and M&J Evans; the groundworker in the housing sector, with a complementary, national capability. Under the agreement, Van Elle and M&J Evans will work closely together nationally on a customer-led basis to offer a more efficient, joined-up delivery model for housebuilders.
The news comes as Van Elle completes a capacity expansion project at the precast pile factory at its headquarters in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. The expanded factory, which is capable of 24-hour manufacturing and utilises low carbon blended concrete mixes, sits alongside the Smartfoot precast beam factory.
This investment increases production capacity by over 30%, positioning the business well to benefit from the expected growing demand in the housing sector over the mid-term.
Chief Executive Officer, Mark Cutler said: “We are encouraged by the new Government’s commitment to accelerate the delivery of newbuild housing. We are ready to support incremental demand with our expanded capacity and breadth of expertise, including our precast modular Smartfoot foundation solution, which offers proven benefits compared to traditional methods.
“Although we anticipate housebuilding volumes to remain subdued in the immediate future, orders in Housing for the year to date are up 20% compared to last year. We believe the Company is well positioned to play a leading partner role with a range of blue-chip customers, with whom we enjoy high levels of repeat business.”
Great Central Railway Reunification project planning application submitted
The Great Central Railway has submitted its planning application to Charnwood Borough Council for the ambitious Reunification scheme.
The project will reconnect two separate heritage railways to create an eighteen-mile line stretching from the north of Leicester to the south of Nottingham, centered on Loughborough, bringing economic benefit and protecting jobs in the area’s service sector.
Three parts of the scheme have already been completed and millions of pounds raised. However, to build more of the scheme planning permission is required.
General Manager of the Great Central Railway, Malcolm Holmes said: “As always, we are hugely grateful and humbled by the generous donations we receive from around the world to advance the project. This next stage is crucial, so we’re now asking people to contact Charnwood Borough Council and support the planning application.”
Since showcasing new plans for the proposed railway link in April 2024, an additional £50,000 has been raised by supporters towards the next phase of work. Plans now need to be turned into engineering designs and specifications, which is likely to cost in the region of half a million pounds.
Malcolm continued: “Formally applying for planning consent is a huge milestone for this exciting project. It has required a lot of hard work and investment from our supporters and stakeholders. We’d like to thank everyone who has got behind Reunification and in particular our design consultants and advisers who have helped and guided us through this vital stage.”
The two sections of the line being reconnected were part of the original Great Central Railway which ran from Sheffield to London. It was closed in 1969 and 500 metres of railway was removed. The revived GCR in Leicestershire now welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors and a sister operation in Nottinghamshire is a developing heritage attraction.
Display exceptional work at the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2024
A key event in the business calendar, highlighting the exceptional work of the region’s property and construction sector, the East Midlands Bricks Awards will return on Thursday 3rd October 2024, at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground.
Nominations for the prestigious event are open, and now is the ideal time to make your submissions, ahead of the deadline – Thursday 5th September.
It’s an opportunity to showcase your projects and team, reward their hard work, bolster morale, and to promote your business and its successes amongst leaders in the industry.
To nominate your (or another) business/development for one of our awards, please click on a category link below or visit this page.
Tickets can now be booked for the 2024 awards event, click here to secure yours.
Taking place in the Derek Randall Suite at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground on Thursday 3rd October, from 4:30pm – 7:30pm, connect with local decision makers over nibbles and complimentary drinks while applauding the outstanding companies and projects in our region.
Attendees will also hear from keynote speaker Paul Southby, partner at Geldards LLP, chair of the Advisory Board to Nottingham Business School, chair of Broadway independent cinema, trustee of Clean Rivers Trust, chair of Nottingham Partners, board member of Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, and former High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.
Dress code is standard business attire.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Award categories include:
- Most active agent
- Commercial development of the year
- Responsible business of the year
- Residential development of the year
- Developer of the year
- Deal of the year
- Architects of the year
- Excellence in design
- Sustainable development of the year
- Contractor of the year
- Overall winner (this award cannot be entered, with the winner, and recipient of a year of marketing/publicity worth £20,000, selected from those nominated for the event’s other awards)
Nominations end Thursday 5th September, with winners revealed at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday 3rd October at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground – an evening of celebration and networking with property and construction professionals from across the East Midlands.
Tickets can now be booked for the 2024 awards event, click here to secure yours.
Taking place in the Derek Randall Suite at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground on Thursday 3rd October, from 4:30pm – 7:30pm, connect with local decision makers over nibbles and complimentary drinks while applauding the outstanding companies and projects in our region.
Attendees will also hear from keynote speaker Paul Southby, partner at Geldards LLP, chair of the Advisory Board to Nottingham Business School, chair of Broadway independent cinema, trustee of Clean Rivers Trust, chair of Nottingham Partners, board member of Marketing Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, and former High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.
Dress code is standard business attire.
To be held at:
East Midlands businesses engage with region’s charities at summit
Businesses, charities and speakers gathered at East Midlands Chamber’s Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) summit at the University of Derby on 11th July.
2024’s East Midlands CSR Summit was made up of a series of workshops, seminars, exhibiting charities and inspirational talks from organisations including Ideagen, Loughborough University and Futures Housing Group.
The summit formed a key pillar of East Midlands Chamber’s #EMComingtogether campaign, an initiative to strengthen the relationship between commerce and communities in the region.
Research findings conducted by Derby Business School and Loughborough Business School into how East Midlands businesses approach CSR were presented by Dr Barbara Tomasella of the University of Derby and Dr Elaine Conway from Loughborough University.
Speaking afterwards, Dr Elaine Conway said of the research data: “We’re not surprised that people in the East Midlands want to get engaged with CSR but what has surprised us is that, in spite of COVID, in spite of the downturns of economy or the cost of living crisis, companies are still wanting to engage with CSR.
“It’s that commitment, that people want to carry on, in spite of everything around them. That’s a really positive thing.”
Kirsty Yates, Housing Operations Manager and Sophie Harding, Community Engagement Delivery Officer at Futures Housing gave a talk on how to collaborate with partners, businesses and employers to deliver social purpose.
Kirsty Yates said afterwards: “For us, CSR is working in partnership to enhance our communities, make them more sustainable and ensure that our customers and communities can thrive and have the best opportunities available to them.
“We’ve worked successfully with smaller businesses, large businesses and there’s been a mutual benefit to both parties as well as the overall community.”
Sophie Harding said: “If we know who our customers are and what’s important to them, what services they need, then we can do better to support them.
“For example, if a charity is working with somebody on a local level, they build a relationship with them for a long period of time. That knowledge can be passed on to us so that we can support the wider community.”
Claire Knee, Global Community and Social Impact Lead from Nottingham-based global tech business Ideagen shared experience of the social impact they’ve had across education, volunteering, technology and charity support.
Speaking afterwards, Claire Knee said: “CSR engagement gives us the opportunity to have social impact, which is important to Ideagen. Community is one of our three values, so it enables us to live out that value, enables us to be proud of the place that we work and to recognise the good that we do.
“There’s a lot of positivity we get through colleague engagement in volunteering, there’s an absolute sense of pride in a job well done for the community.”
East Midlands Chamber President Stuart Dawkins, who opened the summit said: “Getting businesses together with communities and charities to look at the best ways of developing a solid CSR approach can only be a good thing.
“Events like this are a good springboard for thought – what are you doing yourself to assist your community. As I opened the summit, I spoke of the risk to businesses that don’t prioritise CSR getting left behind. It was encouraging to see so many East Midlands businesses share great ideas of how to deliver CSR really well.”
Speakers at 2024’s East Midlands CSR Summit included:
- Dr Nicola Lynch – Head of Business School, University of Derby
- Claire Knee – Global Community and Social Impact Lead, Ideagen
- Hafsa Mitha – Philanthropy Executive, Community Foundation Leicestershire and Rutland
- Kirsty Yates – Housing Operations Manager, Futures Housing Group
- Sophie Harding – Community Engagement Project Delivery Manager, Futures Housing Group
- Dr Barbara Tomasella – University of Derby
- Dr Elaine Conway – Loughborough University
- Stuart Dawkins – President, East Midlands Chamber
Derbyshire defibrillator firm acquired by Stockholm business
Safe Life, a Stockholm-based provider of life-saving solutions with portfolio companies across Europe and North America, has acquired Derbyshire-based Defib Store.
The acquisition marks Safe Life’s third in the UK and 25th since inception. Defib Store is an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) cabinet manufacturer and independent defibrillator supplier with expertise developed through 30 years of designing and manufacturing bespoke cabinets and specialist enclosures based at offices in Derbyshire.“We are happy to welcome Defib Store’s employees to Safe Life,” says Jimmy Eriksson, Safe Life CEO. “The United Kingdom is an important market for Safe Life, and with the stellar reputation Defib Store has earned, we now have a solid base to continue building our infrastructure in the UK to save more lives.”
“We are excited to join Safe Life not only to bring the best minds onboard, but also contributing in its mission to saving lives on a global scale,” said Alex Bennett, Co-Founder at Defib Store.
“I feel it is the responsible decision to join Safe Life for the benefit of Defib Store’s customers, employees and future due to the significant investments in our collective mission that Safe Life continues to make.”
With a recent capital raise, Safe Life is in position to continue to make strategic acquisitions in its core geographical markets.
Go Green, Digital and Innovate Grant Schemes open to Harborough businesses
Businesses are being invited to apply for grants to help them thrive and grow.
Harborough District Council launched three new grant schemes at the recent Harborough Go Green Business Convention that are designed to provide vital financial support for local organisations in the Harborough district.
Funding of up to £2,000 is available to support projects that align with one of the following themes:
- Go Green: Aimed at helping businesses reduce their carbon footprints, increase energy efficiency, and lower fixed costs.
- Go Digital: Supports the adoption of digital technologies to improve business performance and enhance online customer engagement.
- Go Innovate: Provides funding for new products or methods to improve efficiencies and drive business growth.
East Midlands experiences downturn in Foreign Direct Investment
The East Midlands has experienced a downturn in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), according to the latest EY UK Attractiveness Survey.
The region recorded 31 projects in 2023, a 35% decrease on the previous year. This decline marks the second-lowest total of FDI projects for the East Midlands in a decade, causing its share to drop to 3.1% of all UK projects. The East Midlands ranked as the UK’s tenth best performing region in attracting investment.
The East Midlands recorded almost the same number of jobs associated with FDI projects in 2022 as in 2023. The total in 2023 was 2,848, ranking the East Midlands eighth out of twelve UK regions for FDI-associated employment.
The East Midlands’ FDI performance was led by Transportation Manufacturers and Suppliers with seven projects, followed by Agri-food with five, and Machinery and Equipment and Software and IT services, each with four projects.
The East Midlands’ performance contrasts that of the West Midlands, which attracted 127 FDI projects in 2023, its highest total of the last decade.
Simon O’Neill, Office Managing Partner for EY in the Midlands, said: “The West Midlands recorded a meteoric rise in inward investment last year, a clear indicator of the region’s strong economic potential and its growing appeal to international capital.
“While we celebrate these successes, we remain committed to understanding the challenges faced by the East Midlands and to supporting its efforts to regain momentum in attracting global investment. The West Midlands’ success story is not only a win for the region but also a significant contribution to the UK’s position as a prime destination for foreign investment.”
Phenna Group makes seventh acquisition of 2024
Nottingham-headquartered Phenna Group, which invests in and partners with selected niche, independent Testing, Inspection, Certification and Compliance (TICC) companies, has made its seventh acquisition of 2024.
The acquisition augments Phenna Group’s Built Environment Division, adding service and geographic extension to its specialist fire capabilities.
Based out of London and established in 2020, TriFire is one of the leading fire protection safety and consultancy providers in the UK, offering a range of services to housing associations, building surveyors and managing agents.
Adam Kiziak, Principal Consultant at Tri Fire, said: “I am thrilled for my team and I to be joining Phenna Group. From our first meeting it was obvious there was a great fit and our services would complement their existing portfolio in the UK market. I’m looking forward to working with Brian and his team to fast track our future growth plans.”
Brian Shannon, Divisional MD, Built Environment (UK, Ireland & Middle East) at Phenna Group, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Adam and his team to my Division. Their services are highly complementary to the wide range already offered by Phenna Group in the Built Environment space and will offer our customers, old and new, added value. I look forward to helping the Tri Fire team deliver on their exciting growth plans.”
Phil Marshall, CEO of Phenna Group, added: “I’m excited to have Tri Fire join our Group. This acquisition is strategically important, adding UK fire expertise to our current Irish market leading position and cements our growing ‘one stop shop’ capabilities in the UK Built Environment market. I look forward to seeing Adam and his team, excel within Phenna.”
Phenna Group were advised by RSM and Avonhurst. Tri Fire were advised by Oaklins Evelyn Partners and Cripps.
