A PIONEER in health tech is showing his support for Scots entrepreneurs by backing one of the country’s key business competitions.
Christopher McCann, founder and CEO of Current Health, and his partner Dr Jo-Ann Nugent have pledged a £25,000 cash prize to the winner of the University of Dundee’s McGhee Award.
The award – part of the institution’s annual Venture competition for start-up businesses – will recognise and support business concepts with impact, global growth and scalability ambitions.
Christopher, who developed his own business concept whilst studying Medicine at Dundee, said that his time on campus had inspired him to support those with their own entrepreneurial ambitions.
“The University of Dundee occupies a special place in Jo-Ann and I’s lives,” he said.
“It is where we met and spent some of our best years, and it is where Current Health started.
“Today, Current Health is a market leader in the US and UK.
“Along the way, so many great founders helped me and it is now my turn to help new founders as they build companies and solve real problems, benefiting our economy and our society.
“Jo-Ann and I are excited to support Venture 2023, with the McGhee award named after my mother’s family.
“I look forward to viewing the entries and following the journeys of those founders.”
Current Health is an enterprise platform that enables healthcare organisations to deliver safe, end-to-end care in patients’ homes.
Having developed the concept while studying at Dundee’s School of Medicine, the company was subsequently acquired by the US-based technology retailer, Best Buy.
Earlier this year, Christopher returned to his alma mater to deliver the University’s annual Public Lecture in Entrepreneurship, where he detailed his transition from the Ninewells classroom to corporate boardroom.
The addition of the McGhee award to Venture 2023 swells the prize fund to a record-breaking £68,000.
Students and staff will be able to pitch business ideas across several categories, with winners receiving seed funding to develop their proposals.
Brian McNicoll, Head of Dundee’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, said: “The University is an exciting and dynamic environment for developing new business concepts.
“Our annual Venture competition is one of the most important ways in which we support our students and staff in fulfilling their entrepreneurial ambitions and once again we look forward to examining a host of quality submissions.”
