Two Birmingham based tech businesses shortlisted for £1 million prize competition

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18/10/2024
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The brand-new One to Win competition, announced earlier this year has shortlisted two Birmingham based businesses in its final four to pitch at TechWM on Wednesday 23 October for a chance to win £1m of investment.

Launched by TechWM and backed by leading investors, stakeholders, and key tech players, One to Win aims to showcase the region's vibrant and thriving tech sector on the national stage. The investors include and judges for the pitches on Oct 23rd are as follows:

  • Tech WM - Yiannis Maos MBE, CEO 

  • Rigby Group (including IT services company SCC) - Steve Rigby, Co CEO

  • Midven (West Midlands Co-Investment Fund) - Rupert Lyle, Fund Principle

  • Haatch Ventures - Fred Soneya, Co-Founder


Two of the four businesses shortlisted are based in Birmingham:

ChangeMaker3D, is an award-winning sustainable technology brand, that is disrupting the world’s biggest industries and polluters, making them more efficient and sustainable.

Starting in construction – the world’s second largest carbon polluter – they are using state-of-the-art robots to ‘3D concrete print’ the UK’s infrastructure across waterways, railways and nuclear power.

Their new ‘Printfrastructure’ technology cuts carbon by 20%, costs by 20% and time by 50%. And, it can take on any size, shape or location.

OneUp Sales, is a sales performance management platform bringing together analytics, gamification, and visualisation, to build high-performing sales teams.

Recruitment agencies often find themselves struggling to grasp their data, but One Up is addressing this by adding to a recruiting company's tech stack by offering real time data, flexible dashboards and an integrated report builder.

Yiannis Maos MBE, CEO of TechWM said:

“One to Win is going to be one of the highlights of Birmingham Tech Week and the four businesses shortlisted are testament to the great tech landscape we have here in the West Midlands. The £1 million invested in this competition’s prize pot will now be going to a business that we can only see do groundbreaking innovation with and we are excited to see whoever wins what they can utilise with this once in a lifetime opportunity.”


Steve Rigby, Co CEO of Rigby Group said: 

“The West Midlands is a region that has an impressive tech sector and a thriving small business landscape - put those together and places like Birmingham and Coventry become hubs of innovation and creativity. 

“SCC, my family’s cornerstone technology business, is a global business but it remains headquartered in the West Midlands. We’ve never forgotten our roots and we are proud supporters of everything the One To Win competition and TechWM are looking to achieve for our home region.”


Rupert Lyle, Fund Principle of the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund said:

“The West Midlands Co-Investment Fund was designed to fuel innovation and growth within our vibrant tech startup ecosystem. This opportunity exemplifies our commitment to supporting businesses that are driving the Midlands forward with their groundbreaking ideas. We believe this funding will be transformative, empowering them to scale new heights and solidify the Midlands' position as a hub for tech excellence"


The One to Win competition is taking place at Enterprise Wharf, Holt St at TechWM on Wednesday 23 October with the winner scheduled to be announced Friday 25 October at the closing event of Birmingham Tech Week - Black Tie Dinner & Tech Awards, hosted at the ICC.