Four global and 24 regional winners share $460,000 to support their small business dreams
Xero, the global small business platform, today announced the 28 small businesses and non-profits around the world who have won a share of the $460,000 global prize pool as part of the inaugural Xero Beautiful Business Fund.
Launched this year, the Xero Beautiful Business Fund seeks to help Xero’s small business customers boost their growth plans and drive future success. More than 5,500 applications were received from Xero customers across the globe, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Winners, including four small business owners from the U.S., were recognized for best demonstrating how they would use the funding to support their future business goals in a 90-second video under one of four categories: Innovating for sustainability; Strengthening community connection; Trailblazing with technology; and Upskilling for the future.
Read More About Fintech Interviews: Global Fintech Interview with Alessandro Onano, CMO at Tymit
Organizations honored in the U.S. include:
- Innovating for sustainability: Hand Me Up is an e-commerce solution that makes it easier for families to shop second-hand for their kids. They’ll use the Xero funding to increase sales through online advertising, move to a bigger warehouse space, and use more sustainable packaging.
- Strengthening community connection: Rock Recovery helps people overcome eating disorders and body image issues by providing direct, affordable therapy and support services. Funding from Xero will help them scale their programs, letting people who don’t have the resources to pay know they’re worthy of help.
- Trailblazing with technology: Film production and animation company SuvaNova tells client stories using innovative filmmaking. The Xero funding will allow them to purchase new hardware, upskill their designers, and re-engineer the rendering workflow, using advanced AI and graphic technology to move them into the world of real-time animation.
- Upskilling for the future: Moonlighter FabLab is a non-profit student learning center and community fabrication lab. Xero funding will go to providing staff with access to Fab Academy, a 20-week technical training program so they can host the program locally, training educators, designers and engineers to design solutions for today’s most pressing problems.
Global winners across these categories are We Care Connect (Strengthening community connection), Constantia Food Club (Innovating for sustainability), The Seam (Upskilling for the future) and Buzz Burrows (Trailblazing with technology). The four global winners will each receive $30,000 in addition to the $12,500 prize that each regional winner receives.
“Having the opportunity to take our commitment to small businesses to the next level through Xero’s Beautiful Business Fund has been a rewarding and eye-opening experience,” said Ben Richmond, US Country Manager, Xero. “The dedication our customers have to bettering their industries and communities is nothing short of impressive, and I have been honored to connect with and learn from many of these organizations throughout this process.”
The Xero Beautiful Business Fund was first announced during Xero Day, Xero’s founding day celebrations, on July 6, 2023. Applications opened on August 23, 2023, and ran for six weeks, closing on October 6, 2023. Regional winners were chosen by a regional judging panel composed of local business and industry leaders, Xero accounting and bookkeeping partners and Xero employees. A global judging panel made up of global business and industry leaders, technology experts and Xero executives then selected one global winner in each category from the 28 regional winners.
Fintech Insights: Three Game-changing Examples of AI in Private Equity
[To share your insights with us, please write to pghosh@itechseries.com ]
