The UK Government has announced the 2020 winners of the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise in West of England. The award is given for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of:
- Innovation: invention, design or production of goods; performance of services; marketing and distribution; or, after-sale support of goods or services, that have realized outstanding commercial success over 2 years or continuous commercial success over 5 years.
- International trade: Winners have demonstrated that their business has achieved substantial growth in overseas earnings and in commercial success (for their business size and sector) through either outstanding achievement over 3 years or continuous achievement over 6 years.
- Sustainable development: Winners in this category demonstrate commercially successful sustainable development practices. Sustainable development achievements are assessed for: invention, design or production of goods; performance of services; marketing and distribution; after-sale support of goods or services; or, management of resources or relationships with people and other organizations.
- Promoting opportunity through social mobility: Recognizes businesses and organizations that are providing high-quality social mobility initiatives and programs that specifically reach out and support people from disadvantaged backgrounds, in order to inspire and guide the best talent into their organization and beyond
The awards’ full description reads:
“The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious awards for UK business, designed to recognise and encourage outstanding achievements in the fields of Innovation, International Trade, Sustainable Development and Promoting Opportunity (through social mobility). The Queen’s Awards scheme was instituted by Royal Warrant in 1965 and the first Awards were made in 1966.”
Among those selected for the Awards are the following fintechs:
- ClearScore: Medium-size SME with more than 200 employees. The company was launched in 2015 and claims it has disrupted the marketplace and shifted the financial burden of credit checking away from the consumer by making credit scores free.
- Think So Ltd t/a outside the box: A company that describes itself as an innovation and communication consultancy specializing in the financial and fintech sector, most of which are outside the UK operating in hubs.
- Triodos Bank UK Ltd: Founded in 1995, Triodos states it has always only financed companies, institutions, and projects that add cultural value and benefit people and the environment, with the support of depositors and investors.
To see the full list, click here.