Funding Awarded to Warwickshire Technology Company
More than £60,000 of funding has been awarded to a technology company looking to improve the day-to-day experience for commuters in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Enable iD, a subsidiary of software development team Enable International based in Stratford-upon-Avon, is being backed to the tune of £62,675 from the Coventry and Warwickshire Innovation Programme to help tailor its ‘MyJrny’ intelligent mobility system for regional deployment.
MyJrny enables organisations to digitally link up a person’s travel requirements to services offered in an area so a person can get from A to B and beyond in the most efficient and cheap way.
The intelligent mobility industry is taking off in a big way and is expected to be worth an estimated £900 billion by 2025, so the investment, which was supported by the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP Growth Hub, could really pay off over the coming years.
Chris Thompson, Chief Strategy Officer with Enable iD, said: “The funding is going to help us ensure the MyJrny platform works smoothly across regional transport operators by piloting it in Coventry and Warwickshire.
“We are focusing on really making the travel experience for people living in the region as enjoyable, affordable and efficient as possible.
“It was great to work with the Growth Hub on this, not just for the funding, which is obviously welcomed, but for the links it has allowed us to make with transport operators, local businesses and the local authority, all of which are crucial to the delivery of smarter and more integrated transport systems.”
Enable iD employ 65 people and many of its software developers are graduates from the University of Warwick.
The company prides itself on staff retention and expects to grow to over 100 employees by 2020.
Richard Middleton, Business Development Advisor at Coventry City Council, who contacted Enable iD following a referral from the Growth Hub and recommended their application to the Innovation Programme committee, said he believes the forward-thinking company could have a big role to play as the industry grows.
He said: “I believe that this company had the knowledge and passion to really play a big part in the future of intelligent mobility, which is something that is set to become a big part of our lives.
“On a local level, Enable iD could help shape the quality of travel for people in Coventry and Warwickshire over the coming years because of their skills and knowledge.
“Their plans are forward-thinking and I can see a lot of good things coming from their work.”
The Coventry and Warwickshire Innovation Programme supports local SMEs to develop innovative products or services that will be new to the market and is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Phil Peak, Senior Account Manager at the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership Growth Hub, said: “We are delighted to have helped Enable iD with their aim to pilot a project that could have huge positive consequences for people in Coventry and Warwickshire, as well as the rest of the country in the future. This project is a great example of the positive impact that targeted support from the Coventry & Warwickshire Innovation Programme can stimulate.”
Picture captions: L/R Phil Peak, Chris Thompson, Andrew Butt, Richard Middleton