Imoves secure a healthier future for children in the UK

29th March 2017

Imoves, a digital teaching platform to help schools become more active, has overcome tough competition from some of the nation's hottest new start-ups, to be named winner of UKActive's innovation accelerator programme, ActiveLab.

Imoves have been working with schools for more than 7 years the current digital platform provides PE and dance packages to help teachers deliver PE lessons with more confidence and motivation. The company's vision is to work with every school in UK, inspiring active learning not only in PE lessons, but also in the classroom and at home, before expanding to the international market. ActiveLab was launched last year by UKActive and founding partners AXA PPP and Tech City UK. The three-month programme provided 12 finalists with opportunities to network with investors and leading physical activity brands, receive tailored mentorship and take part in a series of workshops on the challenges of scaling a business. In the final part of the programme, the 12 finalists took to the stage to deliver a one minute elevator pitch to demonstrate how their businesses will revolutionise the way we move. Imoves scooped the top prize of an accelerator toolkit worth more than £25,000 after winning over the judging panel and votes from a live audience at ActiveLab Live on Wednesday (15 March) in East London. Imoves Co-Founder Ian Pickles said: -ActiveLab has been transformational for us; it really allowed us to think about what we could do differently now and what we can achieve in the future. We now know we can scale rapidly in the UK and have ambitions to export Imoves overseas. In terms of ActiveLab Live!, the pitch was frightening to say the least, but I think the win came from our enthusiasm for getting kids active by inspiring their teachers and parents. Imogen Buxton-Pickles, partner in both business and in life added: -Our current PE and dance packages really help teachers to become more confident in teaching PE themselves they receive everything they need to deliver outstanding lessons that children love, with great cross curriculum topics including Romans, Egyptians, the World Wars and the Great Fire of London. UKActive Executive Director Steven Ward said the strength of this year's cohort proved the depth of talent around physical activity sector innovation and left him in no doubt about the potential for next year's ActiveLab accelerator. He added: -Technology is presenting opportunities and challenges to the physical activity sector at unprecedented pace, meaning we must embrace new ways of working and innovative partners to survive and succeed. -The years ahead offer a golden age for physical activity ventures with innovation at their core. Today's physical activity leaders see technology not as a risk to be managed, but a major opportunity to hit new heights. -We have to be open and fearless in evaluating our current strategies and calculating how they must adapt to the challenges of the future. With technology as our tool, but innovation as our mindset, we really will set ourselves up to fall in love with the future. As winner of the first ever ActiveLab, Imoves now plans to build on the 500+ UK schools it already works with and pursue international expansion. To find out more about imoves visit www.imoves.com or call 0114 2661061.