On 8th June Dumfries and Galloway Business, MacRebur will be one of ten semi finalists pitching their business idea in this year’s Virgin Media Business, VOOM competition with the hope of securing a visit to Sir Richard Branson’s paradise home, Necker Island.
Situated in between Dumfries and Carlisle, MacRebur has been selected above thousands of other businesses to proceed into the final 10 and will be hoping to secure their spot on Necker Island by winning the Impact Award.
The Impact Award, which is presented by Virgin’s charitable foundation Virgin Unite, will be given to a business which measure’s impact as well as profit; finds a solution to a social or environmental need; has a viable and financially sustainable business model and has impact at the core of its business.
And the prize is almost so good it’s priceless! The winning business will get an all-expense paid trip to Necker Island for a four-day Leadership Gathering taking place in 2017 called “Disrupting for Good”, six hours of dedicated mentoring and workshops with Virgin Unite and the opportunity to pitch to the Virgin Impact team for investment.
On 8th June the ten Impact Award semi-finalists will pitch to an expert panel of judges including: Holly Branson – Chair of Virgin Unite, Alison Fort – Acting CEO and MD Europe of Toniic, Jude Ower – founder/CEO of Playmob, Michael Lynas – CEO of National Citizen Service, Anna Jones Entre – Entrepreneurship Director at Virgin Unite and Ed Muuls – Investment Director at Virgin Management Ltd.
Holly Branson is Richard Branson’s daughter, she is also a Trustee of Big Change, Co-Chair of WE Day UK, and patron of Virgin Money Giving, and she said:
“The final shortlist of entries to this years Impact award are nothing short of incredible – I’m so excited meet the semi finalists. I believe passionately the impact a business has shouldn’t just be measured by the size of its bank account, we need to look at what they contribute to society and their local community. We must measure their social impact and reward those who find unique solutions for our social and environmental needs.”
Representing Scotland in the final will be Dumfries and Galloway based business MacRebur. MacRebur have developed a unique and patented technology allowing them to mix waste plastic with bitumen to lay roads that are more durable and cheaper. The material is called Plasmac and is 60% stronger than traditional asphalt, reuses waste plastic (56% of which goes to landfill) and is £4.50 per tonne cheaper than traditional asphalt roads. (http://www.macrebur.com/)
Toby McCartney, co-founder of MacRebur
Toby McCartney, co-founder of MacRebur said: “It’s such an honour to be considered in this category and alongside such amazing businesses which put impact at the heart of everything they do. The opportunity to go to Necker Island and meet Richard Branson to discuss how to run a profitable sustainability businesses is a once in a life time opportunity but I’m just thrilled to be considered amongst this inspirational group of business men and women”
The semi-finalists will go through the next stage of the competition this Wednesday (8th June) and three finalists will be invited to the #VOOM final on 28th June where a winner will be announced. The winning idea will then receive the all expense paid trip to Necker Island.
But This is where YOU come in “THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD”
The People’s Choice Award – as its name implies – is a bonus award, worth £10,000 in cash. It will be determined entirely by a special public vote.
All entrants (whether shortlisted or not) can go for it. It’s anyone’s game, because everyone starts from scratch on 3rd June. This award is all about running a crowd-pleasing campaign – entrants have until 24th June to ignite the imaginations and win the hearts of the UK and Ireland. The business with the most votes wins.
The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be crowned at the Live Finale, where they’ll meet Richard Branson. You can Vote for our Regions very own ‘Tar Stars’ and help get our region on the map by voting on this link https://www.vmbvoom.com/pitches/innovative-plastic-roads
