Edinburgh tech business Neatebox gets Welcome cash injection

Edinburgh tech business Neatebox gets Welcome cash injection

Edinburgh tech business Neatebox has raised more than £180,000 from investors as it continues to capitalise on the market for its Welcome app, which gives businesses and venues advance notice of customers’ disability requirements.

The award-winning business, which was advised in the investment round by Harper Macleod and angel investor and Neatebox chair Evelyn Simpson, has attracted the funding from business angel syndicate Equity Gap, Scottish Enterprise and a number of private investors. A second tranche of funding will follow later this year, taking the overall investment to around £300,000.

Neatebox founder and chief executive Gavin Neate, a former guide dog mobility instructor who originally created an app for use at pedestrian crossings before focusing on its potential to solve a fundamental customer service need, said: “There is a massive opportunity to scale up and roll out Welcome to the point where it is omnipresent and it is reassuring that our investors share our ambition to make this a reality.

“We’re receiving fantastic feedback from both businesses and disabled users wherever it is deployed, and this funding will allow us to really scale the business and reach more venues and hopefully positively enhance the lives of more and more disabled people over the coming months.”

Disabled people can use Welcome to let services or venues know when they are going to arrive and what kind of extra support they might need. Their phone then alerts the service provider when they book, when they trigger the building’s Geo-Fence and when they arrive at the venue.

Kerry Sharp, head of the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise, said: “Having supported Neatebox from an early stage it is great to see the progress that has been achieved to develop and grow this innovative business improving inclusive access to businesses and services.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the company, both from an investment perspective and through our account management support, to deliver its growth ambition.”

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