The EntreConf Awards 2024 took place at Aerospace Bristol on 29 September for the biggest annual gathering of entrepreneurs in the region.

The University of Bath had a total of 18 shortlisted awards and won in three categories.

Dr Asel Sartbaeva, Department of Chemistry at the University of Bath, co-founded the biotechnology spinout, EnsiliTech, based on 10 years of research into an enscilication process. This has resulted in thermally stable vaccines, removing the refrigeration process for storing and transporting vaccines.

Dr Sartbaeva, who said in her acceptance speech that three infants would have died in the minute that she was on stage due to vaccine preventable diseases, says:

Winning in two categories for both Female Entrepreneur and Science is a huge honour and further supports us in addressing the challenge that worldwide there are 1.5 million infants under the age of five dying from vaccine preventable diseases every year. That is one infant every 20 seconds. In low-income countries up to 50% of vaccines spoil before they are brought to people, also causing wastage of energy and packaging. It is estimated that cold chain failures are costing the biopharma industry £35 billion a year. Thank you to EntreConf and the judges for recognising our mission driven entrepreneurialism.

Also winning at EntreConf was University of Bath alumnus, James Courtney, who collected the FinTech award for his startup LUX Rewards. He has a first class BSc (Hons) in Business Administration and is now currently undertaking an Executive MBA, also with the School of Management. James says:

My entrepreneurial journey began at the University of Bath where I founded LUX Rewards at just 21 years of age. The University has provided incredible support to me over the years, including access to the Innovation Centre, SETsquared accelerator, office space, mentoring, funding, competitions, scholarships and more. Nearly nine years on, and following a tumultuous journey through Covid, I'm extremely proud of receiving the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2023 and now the Fintech of the Year Award 2024.

LUX Rewards has experienced exponential growth in recent years, now promoting hundreds of cashback offers to over 95 million payment cards across the UK, Europe and North America. The Fintech of the Year Award is testament to our successful partnerships with financial institutions such as Mastercard and Revolut. My thanks go out to the University of Bath, EntreConf and the judges for their support and recognition.

See the full list of EntreConf 2024 award winners and photos.

Jon Craig Photography (@JonCraig_Photos)