Three of Scotland’s most innovative SMEs have secured a global audience spot at the CAN DO Innovation Summit after entering a competition to appear on the events #SMEstage.

The successful candidates; FC Laboratories Ltd, Cheemia ReSET and Danu Robotics Ltd, will join a host of world-class speakers, addressing an audience of over 800 investors, academics, entrepreneurs and innovators at the third-annual event held virtually on the 23rd of February, 2022.

The competition, open to all small and medium sized Scottish businesses, required applicants to submit a short video demonstrating how their business drives innovation that is creating solutions to society’s biggest challenges.

The three winners were chosen from a wide variety of high-quality submissions and will now claim their prize spot on the summit’s SME stage and will also benefit from two days of support from an Innovation Specialist at Scottish Enterprise worth £2,000 to help take their idea to the next level.

This year’s virtual CAN DO Innovation Summit will connect startups and SMEs with leading innovators, entrepreneurs, and academics from across the globe to explore new opportunities that marry purpose and profitability. It will feature a speaker line-up of over 40 multi-sector SMEs and a range of innovation support agencies across 12 industry-led panel sessions.

“Recent social and economic changes have created unprecedented challenges for SMEs and we would encourage them to attend the CAN DO Innovation Summit to be part of our vision of making Scotland a world-leading entrepreneurial nation,” said Dr Laura Bell, representative of the summit.

“This virtual focal point for business will help SMEs adopt new technologies, build progressive working cultures and access the right support for innovation-led recovery and growth. We have a wide selection of world-leading speakers lined up for the event, as well as interactive sessions which can benefit SMEs across all sectors.”

Keynotes, panel discussions and live Q&A sessions will run throughout the day covering practical insights on how people power, combined with the right tech, as well as sustainable and inclusive business practices can accelerate and enable a smoother digital transformation journey for businesses.

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Mari-Anne Chiromo, Entrepreneur and Business Growth & Effectiveness Specialist at Apple, is the latest name to join the selection of world class keynotes speaking at the event.

Further speaker highlights on the day include Kate Forbes MSP, Scottish Government; Wade Davis, Feminist, Former NFL Player and Educator on gender, race, and orientation equality, as well as Gayemarie Brown, Forbes Top 25 Futurist, plus many more.

Delegates from a range of sectors – from fintech and health to manufacturing and the creative industries – have already signed up to this year’s event looking to expand their networks, learn about progressive workplace cultures and business models, and make connections for innovative project collaborations.

The #SMEstage competition winners were selected by an independent panel of judges made up of Evelyn McDonald, CEO at Scottish EDGE, Enoch Adeyemi, CEO at Black Professionals Scotland and Colin Meager, Innovation Team Lead, Scottish Enterprise. FC Laboratories Ltd, Cheemia ReSET and Danu Robotics Ltd will appear at the summit at 4pm to showcase how they are building innovation into their daily practices.

Early Bird rates are available for a limited time. If you’re keen to attend the Summit but the cost would prevent you from attending, visit the CAN DO Innovation website for info on how to get access. For more information on the event and to register, please visit: www.candoinnovation.scot