The women are among 100 around the country to be include in the latest Women in Innovation programme

Three female business leaders from the North East have won support to develop their firms from a Government-backed programme.

Innovate UK has announced 100 women to be included in its new Women in Innovation cohort, with those on the scheme getting a grant of £75,000 plus a 12-month package of business support.

Nationally, the programme has backed business leaders operating in a range of sectors, including manufacturing, digital tech and life sciences. Innovate UK said businesses around the UK were being backed.

In the North East, there is backing for Kate Murray, from County Durham firm Ubrix; Lou Willis-Keeler, from Souuthe; and Suzanne Vernazza, who has developed technology to help women manage pelvic floor issues.

Ubrix aims to tackle fragmentation in the construction sector, where sales, build and aftercare typically run on disconnected systems. The company’s software platform gives housebuilders, principal contractors, housing associations and local authorities one platform for the full lifecycle of each building plot.

Founder and CEO Kate Murray said: “This recognition is big news for Ubrix, but it is bigger news for housing. A national panel of innovation experts looked at how this industry delivers homes, saw the cost of fragmented systems, and backed our answer to it.

“Our development pipeline is shaped by the builders, contractors and aftercare teams who live this problem every day. This award tells them the way housing is delivered is changing, and it tells the industry where that change is coming from.”

Newcastle physio Suzanne Vernazza, who has built a sizeable social media following, has been backed to further develop an app to support pelvic health. She launched the Know Your Floors not-for-profit organisation in 2021 and has posted hundreds of “squeeze along” videos on platforms like TikTok designed to encourage people to do regular pelvic health exercises.

She said: “This funding is transformational for the project. It allows us to move from an idea with strong clinical foundations and community support to a properly tested, launch-ready product.

“We’ll be able to work alongside beta testers, refine the experience, and carefully validate the AI-supported information feature so we’re building something that is not only innovative, but clinically robust and worthy of people’s trust.”

Saltburn-based Souuthe has developed a device that calms the body’s stress response for people in palliative, dementia and child care. Lou Willis-Keeler founded the company after more than 25 years working in safeguarding and seeing a lack of tools to help people regulate their emotions.