Are You the Next Great Inventor?

The Government has launched a ‘Dragons Den’ style competition for budding entrepreneurs to create the next great accessible technology.

Currently, the international market for accessible gadgets and technology is worth around $3 billion but there’s a gaping hole in the British market.  As a result ministers have launched the competition with a staggering £50,000 investment up for grabs for the winner.

Purple Pound

The spending power of British disabled people, otherwise known as the ‘Purple Pound’, is worth around £200 billion, with one in five people in the UK recognised as disabled.  However there’s a distinct lack of products and technologies aimed at this powerful niche market.

The new Accessible Technology Prize aims to encourage and inspire promising entrepreneurs to create accessible technology to assist disabled people in all areas of life, from education to transport.  Run in conjunction with innovation charity, Nesta, the competition offers twenty five semi-finalists a total of £6,000 each to develop their idea. Ten finalists chosen from the results will get a further £10,000 to make their innovations into tangible prototypes.  The winning inventor will be awarded the grand prize of £50,000 to bring their star product to market.

Market Gap

Minister of State for Disabled People says: “There’s a serious gap in the market in Great Britain for accessible technology and we want more entrepreneurs to focus on creating devices which help disabled people lead more independent lives.

“As part of our long-term economic plan we hope the prize will spur more people on to enter the accessible technology industry and make a difference to the lives of millions of disabled people in Britain.”

How to Enter

If you’ve had an idea that you think could be the next big thing in accessible technology then visit www.inclusivetechprize.org to enter or find out more.  The closing date for entries is noon on Friday 16th January 2015.