Wayleadr chosen to take part in accelerator programme

Start-up only Irish company chosen for UK and Ireland programme

Julie Ennis, chief executive officer, corporate services, Sodexo UK and Ireland with Jason Popplewell, chief commercial officer and Val Cassidy, head of partnerships and integrations with Wayleadr, at the Sodexo Accelerator pitch day in Dublin
Julie Ennis, chief executive officer, corporate services, Sodexo UK and Ireland with Jason Popplewell, chief commercial officer and Val Cassidy, head of partnerships and integrations with Wayleadr, at the Sodexo Accelerator pitch day in Dublin

Irish-founded start-up Wayleadr has been chosen as one of five companies to take part in the Sodexo UK and Ireland Accelerator programme.

It is the only Irish company to be chosen for the 10-week programme, which will see it road-test its offering.

Founded in Ireland, New York-headquartered Wayleadr provides last-mile automation solutions that bridge the gap between smart vehicles and smart cities, streamlining commuter journey requirements, saving time for businesses and workers and reducing car dependency, congestion and emissions. The company announced last month it had raised €3.7 million to fund its global expansion.

More than 400 start-ups applied to be part of the programme, with Wayleadr one of 21 who made it to the live pitching stage. That saw the start-ups pitch to an audience of Sodexo senior leaders, operational teams and experts sustainability, employee engagement, marketing, supply chain and market consultants.

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Wayleadr joins digital asset data-collection company Asseticom; technology company Hark Systems; Advanced Bacterial Sciences, which develops next-generation bacterial treatments for waste and water management, pollution remediation and agriculture; and AI building intelligence platform Inforgrid on the programme.

"We were delighted with the quality and volume of applications we received for the programme," said Julie Ennis, chief executive of Sodexo Corporate Services, UK and Ireland. "We look forward to the finding out how [the final five] get on during the next stage of the programme, which will test their solutions in our live operations."

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist