The Mayor’s Resilience Fund has revealed the finalists

As London moves into the next phase of re-opening, 36 of the UK’s best innovators have been selected by the Mayor of London and Nesta Challenges to play a major role in the city’s recovery from the pandemic.

The Mayor of London’s £1m Resilience Fund, delivered in partnership with Nesta Challenges and which we are supporting as one of 10 Resilience Partners, asked a panel of expert judges to choose innovative businesses that could find creative solutions to the issues caused by the pandemic, such as regenerating high-streets and improving air quality.

Each innovator will now work with a Resilience Partner – of which Thrive LDN are one – to create new ways of bolstering the city’s resilience and drive for growth.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It has been a very challenging time for Londoners but I am confident these innovators and their partners will find creative solutions that push London forward into recovery and keep our city resilient and robust for years to come.”

Managing Director of Nesta Challenges, Tris Dyson, said: “The panel of judges had a formidable task before them, with many impressive applications, and they have selected an inspiring cohort of companies to help boost our city’s resilience. We are very excited to support these teams to develop their solutions and support London’s recovery this year.”

We are looking forward to working with the innovators on our bereavement services challenge. The challenge asked innovators to develop an accessible and culturally competent solution that enables more personalised bereavement guidance and support for Londoners from minority ethnic groups bereaved by, or during COVID-19. The solutions they create should reflect local minority ethnic community history and culture.

Each team will receive £10,000 to develop their solution. They’ll also receive specialised support in service design, pitch coaching, data usage, navigating government procurement processes and more. At the end of the first phase, the judges will review each team’s progress and choose one winner in each challenge, to be awarded £40,000 each and the chance to implement their solution.

Find out more about the Mayor’s Resilience Fund and all of the finalist teams on the Fund’s dedicated website.