Venture Further Awards 2025: Finalists for leading UK university start-up competition
24 Apr 2025
The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre is delighted to announce the exceptional finalists for this year's Venture Further Awards 2025.
These talented entrepreneurs from across the University have developed innovative business ideas with the potential to create real-world impact.
The finalists are competing for funding of up to £15,000 in one of the five categories: Environment, Healthcare, Services, Social & Technology. The winners will be announced at our awards ceremony on 11 June.
Environment Category
Josiah Edebiri - UrbanWatt
School of Engineering, PhD EEE
UrbanWatt is revolutionising sustainable urban logistics by simplifying the commercial adoption of Light-EVs through integrated wireless power technology, AI-driven optimisation, and smart charging systems.
Farah Frikha - Vesta Capsules
School of Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering
Inspired by Japanese capsule hotels, Vesta Capsules offers affordable, eco-friendly sleeping pods built with smart technology and sustainable materials, providing a modern alternative to traditional accommodations.
Mohammad Israil Hossain - Aqua Graph
School of Natural Sciences, Nano and Functional Materials
Aqua Graph has developed graphene-based filtration technology where micro-sponges can adsorb harmful chemicals from wastewater up to their own weight, with a reversible process allowing for material recovery and reuse.
Thando Mathe - Khuluma
School of Environment, Education and Development, MSc Global Development Environment and Climate Change
Khuluma uses AI-driven climate communication to break language barriers across Africa, making critical climate information accessible to diverse communities.
Healthcare Category
Adrian Perez Barreto - Revine
CDT-Advanced Biomedical Materials
Revine addresses diabetic limb ulcers with a graphene-based electrostimulation patch that enhances tissue regeneration while preventing infection, with integrated biosensors providing real-time wound data.
Indu Khemchandani - abetesCareAI
Alliance Manchester Business School, MBA
abetesCareAI is an AI-powered app helping users manage diabetes through real-time insights, personalised recommendations, and seamless device integration, with a freemium model and B2B partnerships.
Grigorii Rodionov - FlashAid AI
School of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering BEng
FlashAid AI tackles ambulance delays with an AI-powered platform for emergency response featuring instant triage, smart dispatch, real-time tracking, and dynamic routing optimised for traffic conditions.
Jasper Beaumont - Mend
School of Medical Sciences, MBChB Medicine
Mend is an AI-powered digital mental health platform helping patients build positive lifestyle habits through automated tracking, personalised care insights, and data-driven recommendations.
Services Category
Usman Aziz - JIFFL
Alliance Manchester Business School, PhD Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
JIFFL is a SaaS platform revolutionising part-time recruitment with an end-to-end solution enabling all recruitment stages on a mobile app and website, supported by machine learning and NLP for automated interviews.
Xiang Zheng - Purfetch
Alliance Manchester Business School, MBA
Purfetch combines an AI-powered app and pet robot to help owners better understand their pets' emotional changes, behaviours, and health needs through real-time analysis and personalised care advice.
Matilde Lerias - Syncit
Alliance Manchester Business School, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship
Syncit is a fitness app that considers the menstrual cycle, providing science-backed personalised fitness, nutrition, and wellbeing plans to help women maintain consistent routines.
Sebastian Contreras - Unisights
Alliance Manchester Business School, BSc Management (Innovation, Strategy & Entrepreneurship) with Placement
Unisights connects Latin American high school students with UK universities through insights from current students, direct access to university representatives, and AI-powered university matching.
Social Category
Alex Kapadia - Pomelo
School of Natural Sciences, Earth and Planetary Science
Pomelo is an AI-powered platform making local shopping more affordable and convenient by connecting users with nearby food suppliers and chefs, with smart meal planning to reduce food waste.
Bohyuck Han - The Senior Vision Project
Alliance Manchester Business School, MSc Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship
The Senior Vision Project addresses elderly poverty by creating meaningful part-time employment and providing AI-powered dementia prevention training, with data sales reinvested into senior employment projects.
Derry Duffy - Cause
School of Social Sciences, BSocSc Politics and International Relations
Cause is the first online giving platform built specifically for small charities, removing fundraising barriers with no platform fees and enabling connections through data-driven recommendations.
Oboroghene Ogbevire - PalmPro
School of Biological Sciences, Biochemistry BSc (Hons)
PalmPro is pioneering sustainable palm oil extraction through extremophile-derived enzymes that enhance oil yield while reducing environmental impact, with profits reinvested in small-scale producers.
Technology Category
Patrick Johansen Sarsfield - Graphene Thermal
School of Natural Sciences, Graphene NOWNANO CDT
Graphene Thermal specialises in cutting-edge graphene heated floor panels that reach their target temperature in seconds while consuming over 50% less power than conventional underfloor heating.
Dr Sangeethsivan Sivakumar - Ardhann
School of Natural Sciences, PhD Materials
Ardhann develops advanced carbon fibre composites and graphene-based solutions for hydrogen and hydrocarbon storage systems, with integrated monitoring and a SAAS platform for predictive maintenance.
Leo Benjamin Feasby - PulsR
School of Natural Sciences, MPhys Physics with Astrophysics
PulsR offers a suite of AI-powered GPTs including Image Generator Pro and Excel AI, with over 10 million chats and top rankings on ChatGPT's store, enhancing productivity across various fields.
Eduardo Marques - Amplify
School of Engineering, BEng Mechatronic Engineering
Amplify is building a non-invasive Brain-Computer Interface wearable that reads brain signals and uses AI to decode them into commands, streamlining repetitive tasks for 10x productivity.
MEC would like to invite the community at the University in congratulating these remarkable entrepreneurs on reaching the finals of the Venture Further Awards 2025. Their innovative ideas showcase the exceptional talent and entrepreneurial spirit within the University ecosystem.
Stay tuned for the announcement of winners on Wednesday, 11 June!
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