The Conduit EIS Impact Fund

Anya Doherty founded Foodsteps in 2021 whilst researching sustainable food systems at the University of Cambridge. Realising that there was no scalable way for food companies to measure and reduce their environmental impacts, Anya launched the foodtech platform to help companies calculate, label, and reduce their environmental footprint.

Described as the ‘Deliveroo of clothing repairs’, Sojo connects registered seamsters with customers who need alterations and repairs through its bicycle courier service. It has been operating as a direct-to-consumer service but has now launched its B2B service for fashion brands, with Ganni signed as its first deal.

Tandem is a UK-based mobility start-up on a mission to improve transport connectivity for small communities outside of cities. It partners with local taxi, minibus and coach providers to offer flexible and affordable transport options available at a click of a button on its ride-sharing app.

AMLo Biosciences is a female-founded, Newcastle University spin-out focusing on improving the diagnosis and management of patients with skin cancers. Its first product, AMBLor is a prognostic test for cutaneous melanoma which identifies which patients are at true risk of the cancer progressing to life threatening metastatic disease.

MiAlgae applies leading advances in science and technology to improve food security and reduce the impact of humanity on the planet. It has developed and scaled a biotechnology process that uses circular economy principles to convert whisky waste to omega-3 oils for the animal nutrition industry.

Oxwash was founded in 2017 to re-engineer the broken laundry industry. It is an on-demand, close-looped laundry service that uses ozone technology and micofibre filtration to prevent 95% of plastic microfibres from entering our oceans. Its hyper-local delivery model makes the service cheaper and more sustainable than its competitors.

Invented by ophthalmologist, Professor Francesca Cordeiro, DARC technology is a patented ‘biomarker’ that detects disease in the retina - such as glaucoma and AMD - years ahead of other methods. Novai is also creating a diagnostic product for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases and received clinical validation data in August 2021.

Zen Educate is on a mission to disrupt the entrenched and antiquated market of supply teaching. Zen’s digital solution helps schools manage supply teaching more efficiently, the teachers receive better pay and deal with less admin, all whilst generating an average of £15,000 in savings for schools per year.

Thalamos gives people who are sectioned under the Mental Health Act quicker and safer access to vital treatment by enabling their care to be organised digitally. It replaces the outdated system of paper forms that is currently used to arrange care. Instead, Thalamos offers a streamlined digital system which significantly lowers the risk of errors and eliminates unnecessary delays. This allows the most vulnerable patients to access life-saving mental health treatment sooner.

The rapid uptake of electric cars (EVs) is essential to achieving global net zero targets but we aren’t transitioning fast enough mainly because EVs are more expensive. ECS is the only value-add broker in the market offering a full-service to SMEs allowing employees to lease the most affordable EV using salary sacrifice. ECS manages all of the administration and is able to offer employees prices that are cheaper than competitors.