New start-ups selected for Wayra and Wayra UnLtd UK

13 start-ups ranging from leveraged sports betting to educational bedtime stories  have been selected to join  Telefonica’s global tech start-up accelerator programme, Wayra.

The London academy opened its doors in April 2012 and has a dedicated focus on nurturing the best ideas and talent in the field of ICT.

30 finalists battled it out to win a place at the prestigious London academy.  The start-ups were subjected to a two-day intensive pitch process, dubbed Wayra Finals, where they were assessed and judged by a panel of experts.  The start-ups were pitching for one of 15 places in total, with seven spaces open for Wayra start-ups and eight spaces for Wayra UnLtd start-ups.  Whilst the two programmes are very closely linked, Wayra UnLtd accelerates the UK’s best digital start-ups solving social problems and is backed by UK Government in partnership with UnLtd, the world’s largest supporter of social entrepreneurs, in addition to Telefónica.    

Each winning start-up will receive up to €40,000 in funding which may eventually convert into a minority shareholding in their business, typically between seven and ten percent. In addition, they will be given access to a customised work space at the UK academy in central London and “money can’t buy” mentoring from industry leading executives, legal and financial advisors and access to both Telefónica and investors.

Full list of successful start-ups:

Wayra UnLtd Start-Ups:

• Applyed – For Parents, Applyed is a platform to find the best education for your child. For Schools, Applyed is a digital admissions solution and data analytics tool. For Society, Applied is a means of guaranteeing that our most talented and promising young people have access to ‘best-of-class’ educational opportunities
• Get Out Explorers – Connects children and their parents with the natural world through an iPhone app, website and offline content.
• The Busking ProjectKeeping – The Time Out, Tinder and Foursquare of busking. 
• Proversity.org – Disrupts class through a digital university built by employers.
• Roadio – Aims to help improve problem of road safety, with the context being that road crashes are the biggest killer of young people in the UK and globally. 
• Dream Learners – Educates children at bedtime through the magic of storytelling because this is deemed as the most effective way to learn.
• Policy in Practice – This scalable software helps frontline advisors to quickly and clearly illustrate the impact of policy changes on individuals and households.

 Wayra UK start-ups:

• CLOUDWEAR/iWUNTA- Intention-based messaging for mobile and wearable devices.
• DOOWAPP – Music messaging with an Amazing patent pending USP that lets you to put specific song lyrics into your message and play them.
• LEVBET – Leveraged sports betting.
• OpenDesk – A global platform for local making. They sell furniture that is designed for digital fabrication and can be made locally all over the world.
• RotaGeek – Delivers online scheduling for businesses and the health sector, allowing employers to create, modify and disseminate employees work shifts.
• Yoyo – A simple marketing engine for today’s retailers, powered by in-store mobile transactions. 

Gary Stewart, Director of Wayra and Wayra UnLtd Academies in London said; “We are delighted that such a world-class panel has awarded a high calibre of start-ups a place within the academies. We are confident that through funding, mentoring and the support of a multinational business in Telefónica, we will be able to give them the leg up that they need on the path to success.”