Two Northern Ireland winners were amongst recipients of Women In Innovation Awards 2022/23. The Women in Innovation Programme was launched in 2016 by Innovate UK with the overall aim of increasing gender equality in business-led innovation.
The annual competition from Innovate UK supports and celebrates remarkable women entrepreneurs and senior business leaders from any background and any UK nation or region, with the aim to help grow their innovation further.
Indro Mukerjee, CEO of Innovate UK, said:
“The Innovate UK Women in Innovation programme is an important part of our many activities to make a real difference to the talent and skills pipeline for UK business innovation by inspiring, involving and investing in greater diversity. I warmly congratulate all the Women in Innovation Award winners and look forward to keeping in touch as they progress.”
Susan Kelly – aflo Analytics
With a rich background in academia, research, and the corporate world, Susan Kelly has always been interested in problem-solving and learning new things. Her passion for finding solutions to big challenges led her to start her own business, aflo™, which uses AI, sensors and hyper-personalised data to automate the correct inhaler technique for individuals with respiratory conditions.
With a partner and two children who have been hospitalised with asthma in the past, Susan knows how terrifying the condition can be.
“Inhaled medications are the cornerstone of asthma management,” she explains. “I’ve seen how difficult it is to get inhaler technique right to optimise these drugs. In fact, almost 90% of people make at least one inhaler error, reducing the efficacy of their medicines and potentially putting their life at risk. I wanted to help solve that problem.”
It’s been a challenging process and, as a woman founder, Susan has faced difficulties raising private funds for the expensive R&D work. But with collaboration and determination she has built authority in the MedTech world through various speaking and networking events.
The Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award will allow her to grow her impressive body of clinical and cost effectiveness data. But it’s about more than that – Susan’s most looking forward to the mentoring and networking opportunities, getting to know and learn from the other women in the group.
Michelle Connor – Kinva
Michelle Connor’s life changed when her second child, Lydia, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, leaving her profoundly disabled. Michelle took the decision to put a successful career in the Northern Ireland Department of Health on hold, dedicating herself to a relentless schedule of therapy.
Ultimately, the experience gave her a new focus in life – to ensure that effective therapy provision is readily accessible and genuinely bespoke. The outcome was Kinva, a data-driven software platform that connects therapists to their clients, using AI and machine learning to improve access and client outcomes while reducing professional overwhelm, cost and carbon footprint.
Despite having experience in both finance and healthcare, the route to launching Kinva has been challenging at times. But it’s Michelle’s experience as a mum to a disabled child that has really driven her success.
“I am inspired every single day by my daughter,” she says. “There are so many things in life that we all take for granted. She has to work so hard for every single one. And she does it every day. So that’s our guiding principle at Kinva too – set the goals, work hard. Climb the mountain, one step at a time.”